Passengers stranded as Abuja-Kaduna train breaks down in forest

Some passengers are currently stranded a few kilometres away from the train station in Rigasa, Kaduna state.

According to DAILY TRUST, the train developed a mechanical problem just about five minutes after it took off from Rigasa.

The train was heading for Abuja.

The newspaper quoted an engineer with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) as pleading with the passengers over the incident.

The engineer said they had contacted the train station in Idu in the federal capital territory (FCT) for another locomotive to be sent so that the passengers could be conveyed to their destination.

“We are very sorry, the locomotive is faulty,” he said.

“We have contacted the Idu Train Station for another locomotive. It would take them two hours to be here.”

Midat Joseph, secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), said the train developed fault around 7:00 am.

“I left my house as early as 5:00 am to join the 6:40am train but unfortunately I have been trapped here in this forest,” Joseph said.

“This is not the first time I will be experiencing this mess.”

Many passengers commuting between Abuja and Kaduna use the train because of kidnapping on the road.

Although cases of abduction have abated, the train is still the preferred choice of passengers who go to Abuja from Kaduna and vice versa.

Editor’s note: The photo in this report is only for illustration.