Passengers injured as Abuja–Kaduna train suffers mid-journey incident

Passengers sustained injuries on Monday morning after a train operating on the Abuja–Kaduna rail corridor was involved in an operational incident during the journey.

Several passengers reported hearing a loud bang before the train suddenly jolted, throwing many travellers off their seats and causing panic inside the coaches.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation confirmed that the incident occurred at about 10:30 a.m. near Asham and involved a rear locomotive and a passenger coach.

In a statement issued by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the corporation, Kayode Opeifa, the incident was described as avoidable and attributed to a fault in the coupling mechanism.

Preliminary findings indicated that the rear locomotive made contact with the passenger coach immediately behind it after the coupling system developed a problem.

The corporation said some passengers sustained injuries during the incident and were quickly attended to before being taken to a nearby medical facility for treatment. It, however, confirmed that no fatalities were recorded.

According to the NRC, emergency response procedures were immediately activated, while technical teams were deployed to the scene to manage the situation.

The National Safety Investigation Bureau has also commenced a detailed investigation into the incident.

In a preliminary report signed by the Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance of the bureau, Funke Arowojobe, the train identified as KA2 departed Rigasa Railway Station in Kaduna for its scheduled journey to Idu Railway Station in Abuja.

The train left Rigasa at about 7:15 a.m., arrived at Jere Railway Station at 8:52 a.m. and departed again at 8:59 a.m. after a rear locomotive was attached to support the journey.

Shortly after leaving Jere Station, the rear locomotive reportedly detached while the train was travelling down a gradient toward the Asham section.

The detached locomotive then rolled forward and collided with the rear part of the train, resulting in what officials described as a serious operational incident.

At the time, the train consisted of two locomotives positioned at the front and rear, a power car, two business-class coaches and six standard passenger coaches.

A total of 429 passengers were on board, alongside 46 crew members and 24 security personnel assigned to the service.

Authorities maintained that although some passengers sustained injuries, no deaths were recorded.