By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has confirmed that 26 passengers and crew members sustained injuries after a Kaduna–Abuja train was involved in an accident near Asham Station, even as the corporation said the service was later restored and operations continued the same day.
The incident occurred on Monday, 16 March, 2026, during the KA-2 Kaduna–Abuja service, which departed Rigasa Station at 7:15 a.m. according to schedule.
The train arrived at Jere at 8:52 a.m., one minute ahead of time, but departed at 8:59 a.m., about six minutes behind schedule after locomotive 2809 was coupled to the rake to improve operational resilience.
According to the interim report, the accident happened at about 9:16 a.m. while the train was approaching Asham Station at kilometre 50–51, when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
Preliminary findings indicated that the incident may have been caused by a fault in one or more couplers, which led to a possible decoupling of part of the train, although the exact cause has not yet been established.
The report noted that despite the impact, none of the coaches derailed, but some rolling stock had to be detached before the journey could continue.
“Two vehicles and the trailing locomotive involved in the incident were subsequently detached locomotive 2809, power car BVA0002 and passenger coach SP0006,” the report stated.
After the damaged components were removed, the train departed the scene at 9:42 a.m., arrived in Kubwa at 10:10 a.m., and finally reached Idu Station, Abuja, at 10:39 a.m., recording a total delay of 38 minutes.
A total of 481 persons were on board the service at the time of the incident, including passengers, railway staff, security personnel and support workers.
The corporation explained that 459 passengers were booked for the trip, while 429 actually boarded, according to records retrieved from the ticketing platform.
Others on board included 10 train crew members, 26 security personnel including members of the Man O’ War, six food vendors, eight cleaners and two third-party operators, including a nurse and a ticketing platform operative.
Following the accident, 26 persons were reported to have sustained varying degrees of injuries.
“A total of 26 people with varying degrees of injuries were recorded among the passengers, medical crew, cleaners, passengers and security personnel attached to the service,” the report said.
Emergency response measures were activated immediately after the incident, while the affected coaches were isolated to allow the train complete its journey.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation stated that normal operations resumed later in the day after recovery work was completed.
According to the report, the Abuja–Kaduna service resumed with the AK-1 train departing Idu at 2:48 p.m., although the scheduled departure time had been 11:00 a.m.
The train eventually arrived in Rigasa, Kaduna, at 5:33 p.m., with the Managing Director of the corporation, Kayode Opeifa, and other officials on board to monitor the situation.
The KA-4 service later departed Rigasa at 6:12 p.m., still conveying the Managing Director, and arrived Kubwa at 8:31 p.m. before terminating at Idu Station, Abuja, at 8:58 p.m.
The corporation said investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the suspected coupler failure that led to the incident.
