By Atoyebi Nike
A Kaduna-bound passenger train derailed on Tuesday morning at Asham, along the Abuja-Kaduna corridor, shortly after departing Abuja at 9:45 a.m.
The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) confirmed the incident on its official X account, sharing a video clip that showed several coaches off the track, with passengers including women and children scrambling out through windows and doors.
In the footage, a female passenger who filmed the scene said she had been seated in the last coach and, upon exiting after the train halted, discovered that some coaches had overturned, with people gathered outside in confusion.
As of press time, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) had not issued a formal statement, and NTA did not confirm whether there were casualties.
The Abuja-Kaduna route, one of Nigeria’s busiest passenger rail corridors, has been plagued by frequent accidents and service disruptions. Just days earlier, the NRC reported a “hot axle” fault on a Kaduna-bound train near Rigasa Station, disrupting business-class operations. In May 2024, another derailment occurred at Jeremy Station along the same corridor.
The challenges extend beyond Abuja-Kaduna. The Warri-Itakpe line remains under urgent repairs after repeated disruptions, with the NRC announcing last week that services would soon resume.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2023 Social Statistics Report shows derailments are the most frequent type of train accident in Nigeria, with 183 recorded between 2020 and 2022—far exceeding collisions, detachment cases, or washouts. Experts warn that vandalism, including rail track theft and sabotage of signaling equipment, has further compounded the safety and reliability crisis.
