On August 26, this year, a Kaduna-bound train derailed at 11:09 a.m. between Kubwa and Asham stations about an hour after departing Kubwa in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with more than 600 passengers on board. The 10-coach train reportedly went off the tracks leaving one or two rear coaches standing. The derailment caused panic among the passengers with several of them frantically exiting the coaches and fleeing into the bush unsure of the cause.
For a corridor that was plagued by bandits’ attacks in recent years, the frightened passengers must have concluded that the train had come under attack by criminal elements. Derailment had been a rare occurrence since the train became operational after the commissioning by the late President Muhammadu Buhari on July 26, 2016. The first accident along the corridor occurred in 2023 in the Kubwa axis, leaving two coaches badly damaged, while a few passengers sustained minor injuries. Fortunately, there has been no loss of lives in the two accidents so far recorded. But no fewer than 14 passengers suffered varied degrees of injuries in the latest crash.
Preliminary reports showed that the derailment must have occurred as a result of operational error or excessive speeding at an intersection on the tracks. In a statement issued after the accident, the Minister of Transportation, Saidu Ahmed Alkali, gave the assurance that the Abuja–Kaduna rail service remained safe. The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr. Kayode Opeifa, also echoed the assurance.
Speaking to journalists at the State House on the tragedy, the minister said investigations into the incident were ongoing, but preliminary findings suggested that it was caused by an operational issue rather than any deliberate act.
Since the rail services began along the Abuja-Kaduna corridor, commuters have heaved a sigh of relief given the deplorable state of the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway. The railway was considered safer and cheaper means of transportation until the bandits and kidnappers seized the corridor a couple of years ago. It is, however, gratifying to note that normalcy has since returned to the route following the beef-up of security. For a long time now, there have been no reported incidents of train attacks by these criminal elements along that route.
With the deplorable state of the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, one can only imagine the ordeal commuters will face now that train services have been suspended. We urge the federal government to expedite action on the restoration of services.
It is gratifying to note that investigation is ongoing to ascertain the real cause of the latest derailment. Even though an accident of this nature cannot be ruled out, if it turns out to be a man-made error, those found culpable should be punished accordingly to avoid a repeat of such disaster.
The Abuja-Kaduna corridor is just one of such busy routes for now. The operation is yet to spread across the country as experienced during the pre-colonial era up to the early 1990s. If the operators cannot handle isolated corridors like the Abuja-Kaduna route, we wonder how they would cope when the railway master-plan is eventually executed across the length and breadth of the country. Nigeria has a 25-Year Strategic Railway Master Plan aimed at rehabilitating the existing 3,505km narrow gauge rail lines and developing and constructing new standard gauge rail lines across the country.
Although Nigeria may not be totally free from railway disasters, perhaps the most tragic singular episode occurred close to five decades ago in the present-day Nasarawa state. Referred to as the Langa-Langa train disaster, the derailment led to the loss of more than 150 lives in the east-bound train. Several others were severely injured. Some passengers trapped in the mangled metal had to have their limbs amputated by doctors dispatched to the scene to free their bodies. Today, the wreckage of the coaches still litters the scene of the disaster. May we not experience such a calamity again.
The train remains the safest and most dependable means of transportation all over the world. For instance, nations like India, China, Russia and even Egypt operate effective and efficient railway systems given their large populations. In view of the rapid growth of Nigeria’s population expected to balloon to over 400 million in the next 25 years, we cannot rely heavily on road transportation to oxygenate our socio-economic life. The nation’s railway transportation agenda must, therefore, be pursued with vigour.
Blueprint wishes those injured in the recent disaster a speedy recovery. There should be compensations for the victims where necessary, while everything possible should be done to prevent a repeat of such an incident. We hope the authorities have learnt some lessons from the unfortunate mishap.