The Abuja-Kaduna train, which resumed activities yesterday, 5th December 2022, has been marked by low passenger turnout.

Idu train station

It was observed by 10 a.m on the day of resumption, there was low turn­out of passengers at the Idu Train Station, but passengers were orderly on the queue as armed Policemen and other security officers were seen stationed around the premises.

Passengers accompanied by their friends and families were seen carrying luggage and moving towards the ticket hall to obtain boarding tickets for the first train scheduled to take off from Abuja to Rigasa in Kaduna by 9:45a.m.

One of the passengers at the Idu Train Station, Hajia Aisha Gobir, expressed excitement on the resumption of the train service, stating that plying the road from Abuja to Kaduna is very bad. She said she was the first to arrive the train station and added cheerfully, that she should be given a business class ticket as a reward.

According to her, she used the online app to book for the train and she didn’t experience any hitch.

The Deputy Director, Operations, Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, Akin Osinowo, explained that the resumption of the train service was delayed because the Feder­al Ministry of Transportation needed to guarantee the safety of passengers.“I think we have gotten to that point now which is why we are resuming today. We have gone through a lot of background painstaking work in terms of security.“Right now, the service has eyes and ears throughout the corridor and throughout the stations and our rail lines are well protected, we maintain communication with our train every single time it is moving. We have a huge level of confi­dence.

“We are just opening after a long time and we are putting in place a lot of protocols, securi­ty systems, operating systems, a lot of technology, among others, and we want to make sure they are working well to guarantee and protect lives of passengers.

The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Transportation, had an­nounced the resumption of the Abuja-Kaduna train ser­vices on Monday, 5th December 2022, after eight months of suspension of services due to an attack by members of the Boko Haram group.

Story: Christy Dung

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