The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) announced that passenger train services on the Abuja‑Kaduna corridor will resume on 1 October 2025. This decision follows the successful completion of all required safety, technical and operational checks after a derailment on 26 August 2025. The incident occurred at a manually operated switch point that had previously been declared unserviceable and marked the second derailment at the same station within 13 months. An investigation by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) identified defective infrastructure and lapses in NRC’s safety management as the causes. Since then, the NRC has carried out the necessary inspections on the train, confirming that it is safe for commercial service.
Regarding passenger welfare after the August 26 incident, the NRC reported that out of the 583 passengers on board, 530 were contacted by phone and 512 received refunds. All 22 injured passengers have been contacted, and many have been visited by the corporation’s medical team. Each of these passengers will receive one free ride per week until 31 December 2025, and all 618 people on board at the time of the accident will be entitled to one free ride before that date.
As operations restart, the NRC released a timetable for the Abuja‑Kaduna service. Trains will depart Abuja for Kaduna at 8:45 am and 9:05 am, arriving at 12:42 pm and 6:02 pm respectively. Every Wednesday has been designated as a maintenance day for the route.
The NRC thanks Nigerians, especially train passengers, for their patience and understanding during the suspension. It reaffirms its commitment to providing safe, reliable, affordable, efficient, secure and customer‑friendly rail transportation across the country. The resumption of passenger services on the Abuja‑Kaduna corridor represents a significant development for Nigeria’s transportation sector, underscoring the corporation’s dedication to national connectivity and economic growth while continuing to meet passengers’ needs.
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