Knocks, lamentation trail continuous breakdown of Abuja-Kaduna trains

In less than five months after the new locomotives were deployed, they had broken down severally,

For the umpteenth time, hundreds of passengers on the Abuja-Kaduna train service were stranded in the bush recently after the train developed a fault minutes after leaving Rigasa Station in Kaduna State. Daily Trust examines the recurring break down of the Abuja-Kaduna train.

Passengers claim that the train had initially stopped twice before it finally broke down in Dutse, Kaduna State, around 7am.

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This left many passengers worried and panicking, especially with the activities of bandits and other criminals who could take advantage of them being in the bush to conduct their nefarious activities.

Daily Trust recalls that months before this recent breakdown, on January 4, 2021 precisely, the train had broken down as it was returning from Kaduna.

The train, which was on the morning schedule from Rigasa, Kaduna, to Idu, Abuja, broke down around Akere – a rural area within the route.

It took the engineers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) three hours to fix the faulty locomotive to the detriment of the passengers.

Similarly, on November 24, 2020, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, was forced to apologize to Nigerians for the breakdown of the train which occurred between November 18 and 20.

However, due to the frequent breakdowns, passengers are sceptical of patronizing the train, especially the 6pm schedule for fear of breakdown at night and so, opt for road transportation.

Mr. Pascal Nnorli, the manager of the service, confirmed the breakdown. He said in a statement that “the failure was as a result of mechanical malfunction” of the train.

An engineer with the NRC, who addressed the passengers, told them that it would take them two hours to fix the train.

“We are very sorry; the locomotive is faulty. We have contacted the Idu Train Station for another locomotive. It would take them two hours to be here, “he had said.

The passengers were finally evacuated at 10:20am.

Some passengers, who spoke with our correspondent at the Rigasa Station in Kaduna, lamented the rigours of travelling on the route as breakdowns of the locomotive leave them stranded for hours.

A passenger waiting to board the 10:35am train, Alhaji Inuwa Bello, said he was only using the train due to the activities of kidnappers on the Abuja-Kaduna highway.

According to him, “I was a regular on the Abuja-Kaduna highway because I am a businessman and my business is in Abuja while my family is here in Kaduna. I am just forced to use the train because of the activities of kidnappers on the road.

“It is not like the train is convenient, it is actually very stressful and at times, if one has a deadline to meet, the train might develop fault and there is nothing you can do about it unlike if you were on the road and the vehicle developed fault, you can board another vehicle and continue your journey.

“Nigeria is a rich country, and I believe if the government is sincere, it will find lasting solutions to the security challenges we are facing and Nigerians can go about their lives without fear or hindrance.”

Another passenger, Gloria Musa, said “I only want to call on the Federal Government to look into the plight of its citizens and do the needful. We need a government that is responsive and proactive in order to forge ahead.”

Narrating his experience from Monday’s incident, Mohammed Haruna, who uses the train on a weekly basis, said “I left my house as early as 5am to join the 6:40am train but unfortunately, I was not able to reach my destination on time because I was trapped in the bush for hours when the train broke down on Monday. This is not the first time I will be experiencing this mess.”

Mr. Midat Joseph, an Assistant National Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), who was one of the passengers, confirmed that the train developed fault around 7am.

“I left my house as early as 5am to join the 6:40am train but unfortunately, I have been trapped here in this forest. This is not the first time I will be experiencing this mess,” he said.

Another passenger, Mary John, said she had a similar experience on Saturday. “This is unfortunate. On Saturday, we spent five hours from Abuja to Kaduna. We left Abuja at 6pm but we did not get to Kaduna until 11pm,” she said.

The Abuja-Kaduna rail line is one of the first standard gauge railway modernization projects (SGRMP) undertaken in Nigeria. The standard gauge line which connects the federal capital city, Abuja, with its commercial capital city, Kaduna, was to enable faster movement of goods and people between the two cities.

The construction of the Abuja-Kaduna rail line started in February 2011 and was completed in December 2014 with China’s support. President Muhammadu Buhari officially inaugurated the line for commercial services in July 2016.

The project, which was constructed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), is expected to create approximately 4,000 jobs and 5,000 additional jobs during operation.

The Abuja-Kaduna segment is the first to be implemented as part of the Lagos-Kano standard gauge project.

This sad experience has been a recurring decimal on the Abuja-Kaduna train service. It cost the federal government in excess of $1.5bn to procure the rail facilities and the locomotives/coaches from the Chinese on the Abuja-Kaduna railway facilities.

Prior to this latest breakdown, the trains have broken down several times since the commissioning of the facility by President Muhammadu Buhari on July 26, 2016. Although there has been no record of the exact number of times the trains have broken down, an anonymous source within the NRC said the train may have broken down at least 25 times since 2016, which is an average of five times annually.

This year alone, the train has broken down at least 3 times. In 2020, the breakdown was so frequent to the extent the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi ordered the contractor, the CCECC, to either fix the locomotives or the NRC should revert with the old locomotives that were fairly consistent.

Mr. Rotimi Amaechi who had apologized to Nigerians ordered the Chinese contractor, CCECC, to fix or replace the locomotives as the warranty were still valid.

Recall in 2020, the FG deployed new locomotives procured from CRRC Qishuyan Co., Ltd. China to deal with rising passenger pressure on the Abuja-Kaduna train service. The new locomotives even failed multiple times more than the initial ones deployed in 2016.

In less than five months after the new locomotives were deployed, they had broken down severally, leaving passengers stranded.

The minister said the situation was embarrassing and he apologized to Nigerians. “I will like to apologise to Nigerians over what’s happening at Abuja to Kaduna line. It’s worrisome in the sense that they are brand new locomotives. We may be forced to bring back our old locomotives if the breakdown persists,” the minister had said.

“The locomotives are under warranty. We have called the Chinese to come back for the locomotives that are bad. The locomotives have failed more than two or three times and the response to that on behalf of the government and on behalf of the ministry and NRC is that, we apologize to Nigerians and we have told NRC to either fix them or get the Chinese to fix them,” he said.

The locomotives were not recalled at the time but were fixed. However, less than six months after the locomotives were fixed, they are breaking down again.

In January, a train broke down again. The NRC described the failure as a small technical failure but it took three hours to fix.

“It’s a small problem and it has been fixed. It happened at Akere, and the train was en route Idu, Abuja, from Rigasa” Victor Adamu, the Operations Manager, Abuja-Kaduna train service had told our correspondent.

The NRC has said it is developing a maintenance module that will end the perennial breakdown of the trains. The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Engr. Fidet Okhiria has said the reprogramming of all the locomotives for schedule maintenance has begun, to avert the frequent breakdown of the trains.

He told our correspondent on the phone that “the engine is being programmed for schedule maintenance,” adding that the process will last three days.

The three days have elapsed and the programming has also been concluded. However, the impact of this new maintenance programme will only be assessed and deem to have succeeded if the trains stop breaking down frequently.

Meanwhile the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi has attributed the incessant breakdown of the Kaduna-Abuja trains to the delay in the arrival of some spare parts from China.

The Minister who spoke Friday after a routine inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan rail project said he had instructed the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to rest the locomotive that constantly breaks down on the route.

Speaking on the development, Amaechi said, “After the last breakdown of the Kaduna-Abuja train, I instructed the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to rest that particular locomotive. I am surprised that there was a delay related to another breakdown in the early hours of today.

“The issue with the breakdown of the Kaduna-Abuja train is due to lack of maintenance which is attributable to a lack of spare parts from China. We have written to Mr President on this issue and he has graciously approved the purchase of spare parts for the Lagos-Ibadan trains.

“Very soon, the Chinese will supply us with enough spare parts for the Lagos-Ibadan rail. By the time they do that, we will be forced to use some of these spare parts for the Kaduna-Abuja trains and hopefully, the issue of incessant breakdown of the trains will be resolved.

Maryam Ahmadu-Suka (Kaduna),  Chris Agabi (Abuja) & Abdullateef Aliyu, Lagos