Abuja–Kaduna Trains Slower Than Bicycles, Senate Raises Alarm
The Nigerian Senate has expressed deep concern over the deteriorating state of the country’s rail transport system, lamenting that trains operating on the Abuja–Kaduna route now move at a pace slower than bicycles.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, made the remark on the floor of the Senate while inaugurating an ad hoc committee to investigate the challenges facing Nigeria’s rail services.
“If you are using a bicycle, you will get to Kaduna from Abuja faster than the train,” Akpabio said. Eyes Of Lagos reports,
The committee, chaired by former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, has been given six weeks to examine rail operations, assess the quality of equipment in use and review the efficiency of management overseeing the sector.
The probe followed growing complaints by lawmakers over what they described as a sharp decline in services along the once-celebrated Abuja–Kaduna–Kano rail corridor.
Raising the issue at plenary, Senator Abdul Ningi recounted his recent experience on the route, noting that journeys which initially lasted about 90 minutes now stretch beyond three hours.
“When the railway started, it was one and a half hours to Kaduna. Last week, we spent three and a half hours,” Ningi said.
“People had no alternative. This situation is deeply disturbing.”
The lawmaker further disclosed that passenger traffic on the route had dropped drastically, from about 10,000 passengers daily to fewer than 1,000, while train trips had reportedly been reduced to just two shuttles per day.
According to him, the decline has negatively affected revenue generation and eroded public confidence in the rail system.
Ningi also alleged that some of the equipment deployed for the project might have been second-hand, suggesting that Nigeria may have been short-changed in the execution of the rail contract.
The Senate said findings from the investigation would guide further legislative and policy actions aimed at reviving the country’s rail transport infrastructure.