Vandals, bandits slow Abuja-Kaduna train service

When the Abuja-Kaduna train service commenced in 2016, the federal government and indeed the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) envisaged smooth operations along the corridor, but this is gradually becoming a mirage.

Having worked for years, successfully transporting Nigerians to and from the nation’s capital, except for cases of ticket racketeering, the train service was dealt its first blow when terrorists attacked its train on March 28, 2022.

Insurgents had blown up the rail track and bombed the moving train, killing some and abducting more than 60 passengers.

This incident forced the FG to close down activities along the corridor for over eight months thereby losing huge amounts of money on the investment. It was later reopened on December 5, 2022, with two return services.

Since then, patronage has continued to drop due to insecurity as passengers opt for the road which seems to be safer than the train. This was confirmed by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Mr Fidet Okhiria, during an inspection of the corridor on June 10, 2024, in Kaduna who attributed insecurity and vandalism among others as having affected patronage on the train.

The recent derailment of a train by vandals is however making matters worse as it is causing even greater fear and apprehension among passengers.

Recall that on January 27, 2023, the service was suspended due to a derailment at Kubwa station.

Also, on June 12, 2024, as the nation marked the 2024 Democracy Day, a train derailed along the Abuja-Kaduna route. The incident makes it the third time such an incident will be occurring in two weeks – between May 26 and June 12.

 

Some passengers who spoke with our correspondents at the Rigasa station said they now plied the route with their hearts in their mouths for fear of the unknown.

According to Amina Mohammed who was on the train on Monday, “I just told Allah my predicament and boarded the train because there was no guarantee whether or not we will arrive safely since the train has been attacked many times.

“I think when next I am going to Abuja, I will just go by road because the road looks safer now, at least, if the vehicles become faulty, passengers have the option of boarding another vehicle unlike when the train has issues, passengers are left in the bush and at the mercy of bandits.”

She appealed to the government to use technology to provide much-needed surveillance on the trains for the convenience and safety of staff and passengers.

Adding her voice, Grace Samuel accused the government of unwillingness to address the issue of vandals and insecurity.

“The government is spending huge amounts of money on foreign trips, big vehicles and other unnecessary things instead of giving priority to the lives and property of citizens that voted for them.

The is a need to wake up and live up to these responsibilities as leaders. If truly the government wants to tackle the issue of insecurity, it can because we have seen how, through their efforts, they rescued some kidnapped school children and other victims,” she said.

She urged the government to urgently do right by Nigerians and ease the suffering of the masses “as things are truly getting out of hand.”

Another passenger, Ibrahim Mohammed, said he still believes the train is safer and more conducive for travelers.

Mohammed, who plies the route on a weekly basis, said “If I was going by road, it would not have been easy for me working in Abuja and having my family here because apart from the expenses on fuel and maybe repairs on my car due to the bad road, I would also have been falling sick more often from the fatigue from driving on the road.

“But since my family has a car here in Kaduna, all I need to do is to board the train and even catch some sleep while onboard. The government just needs to deploy the use of technological innovations to monitor activities around the train and tracks.”

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Mr Fidet Okhiria, who was also caught up in the train that derailed on Wednesday while traveling back to Abuja after an inspection of the Rigasa station following cases of vandalisation, assured that the government was on top of providing security on the train and across the country.

The MD, who disclosed that the Kaduna-Kano train service will commence in the first quarter of 2024 said, “The Kaduna-Kano train is coming up, the track has gotten to Makarfi Local Government Area from Kano and we are hoping that by early next year, people will be able to arrive from Abuja in Kano.”

He, however, lamented how the rising cost of diesel and insecurity are hindering train operations.

“When we started, the patronage was high but after the incident of March 2023, things stepped down. We were running 10 trains then but after the incident and also because of the rising cost of diesel, we had to limit the number of trains.

“At the time we started, diesel was between N230 to N280 per litre, it now costs between N1,000 to N2,000 depending on the supplier and because rail is for the people, the government decided to maintain the price so that people can benefit from what the government is providing,” he said.

On vandalism, he said, “The federal government is taking measures to further secure the train and other components, adding, “We are on top of the insecurity situation; we are in talking with the Commissioner of Police and other security agencies to further provide more security for our customers because many people ride the train; and also against incessant removal of sleeper on the track.”

“Security is a top priority because our trains also carry goods, for instance, we are carrying pipelines from Itakpe in Warri. We have started carrying containers from Lagos to Kaduna, Lagos to Idah and Lagos to Kano, so the need for general surveillance on all stations.

“We will continue to liaise with security agencies to ensure rail is taken seriously, as right now, we provide air surveillance on the Abuja-Kaduna train and sooner or later, it will be extended to other parts.”

He expressed optimism that soon, the corporation will deploy technology to monitor the trains and the tracks for mobile phones as a step towards addressing vandalisation across the country.

On ticket racketeering, the MD noted that since the introduction of the e-ticket, cases of racketeering have reduced drastically. “We have tried to limit staff contact with customers by ensuring they buy their tickets online and there is equipment to check customers in and out of the stations.