Hundreds of passengers were left stranded on Monday after a train travelling from Kaduna to Abuja collided with another train along the rail corridor, forcing authorities to immediately suspend operations on the route.
The incident occurred during the busy early morning commute and has raised fresh concerns about safety procedures and the signaling systems used on one of Nigeria’s busiest rail lines.
According to reports from passengers, the train departed Kaduna as scheduled but later encountered another train on the same track. Details about whether the other train was stationary or moving are still unclear.
Witnesses described the moment of impact as a sudden and violent jolt that caused both trains to come to an abrupt stop.
“We were moving at a steady pace when there was a loud bang and the train suddenly braked,” one passenger wrote on social media. “We later realized we had hit another train on the same track. Everyone is shaken, but we are waiting for official information.”
Another passenger, Sada Malumfashi, said the impact threw passengers off balance.
“I just dropped from the Kaduna–Abuja train. We heard a loud bang and the train jolted to a stop, flinging people across. Some passengers were hit and are bleeding with serious injuries,” he said.
A separate passenger reported that the train was delayed for about 30 minutes before continuing towards Kubwa, adding that there had been no communication from the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
The Nigerian Railway Corporation has yet to release an official casualty figure. However, early reports from the scene indicate that although the collision caused notable damage to the front sections of the trains, there have been no confirmed fatalities so far.
Emergency responders and security personnel have since been deployed to the area to assist passengers and secure the site.
The collision has also raised urgent concerns about the digital signaling system designed to prevent trains from occupying the same section of track at the same time. Experts note that such incidents may point to a breakdown in communication between train operators and the control center, or a malfunction in the automated signaling infrastructure.
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