The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has launched a full investigation into a mechanical fault suspected to have triggered Monday’s train incident along the Abuja–Kaduna corridor, even as operations resumed the same day.
According to an interim report signed on Tuesday by NRC’s Managing Director, Kayode Opeifa, the disruption on the KA-2 service may have resulted from a failure in the train’s coupling system, leading to a collision between a power car, a trailing locomotive and a passenger coach near Asham Station.
The incident occurred at about 9:16 a.m. as the train approached the station, shortly after departing Jere where an additional locomotive had been attached to the train to enhance operational stability.
Although a loud impact was recorded, the corporation confirmed that the train did not derail;a factor that significantly reduced the severity of the situation and enabled quick recovery.
Rail engineers onboard promptly isolated the affected units locomotive 2809, power car BVA0002 and coach SP0006 allowing the remaining coaches to continue the journey.
The train resumed movement at 9:42 a.m. and completed its trip to Idu Station, Abuja at 10:39 a.m., with an overall delay of 38 minutes.
Out of the 481 people onboard, 26 sustained varying degrees of injuries, including passengers and operational staff. No fatalities were reported.
The NRC said the focus has now shifted to a detailed technical assessment of the coupling system to determine the exact cause of the failure, particularly in light of the earlier locomotive attachment at Jere Station.
Despite the disruption, the corporation restored services later in the day, with return and subsequent trips completed under close supervision of senior officials.
The NRC assured passengers that safety checks and maintenance protocols would be reinforced as part of measures to prevent a recurrence on one of the country’s busiest rail corridors.
