• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Abuja-Kaduna train services to resume November – FG

Industry operators, observers bemoan limited train services

The federal government on Monday announced that the Abuja-Kaduna train services will resume services in November 2022.

Mu’azu Sambo, minister of transportation, made this known at a press briefing organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture in Abuja.

The train services were suspended since March 28, 2022, by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) after terrorists bombed the moving train, killed some passengers and abducted at least 60 passengers. The incident attracted public outcry and condemnation in the country and across the globe.

The minister, while describing the incident as sad, said the federal government has learned its lessons and has now put in place security measures to ensure the safety of passengers travelling the route.

Read also: The Abuja-Train 23: Were they rescued or were they released?

According to him, the government has put in place surveillance measures that will allow security agencies and the president to monitor activities going on in the train corridor.

“The Abuja-Kaduna mishap was indeed a sad one, and we shall not witness anything like that again. Not only because we have committed that to prayer, but also because we have deliberately taken steps. Lessons have been learned, They are Safety, and security, surveillance, constant and round-the-clock monitoring.

“The Minister should be able to sit in his office and look at the rail corridor and see what is happening there. The President should be able to do that, and other security agencies. These are the measures we have put in place. Nobody again will shave our heads behind our backs. This month of November, we shall resume that service,” the minister said.

He also noted that the government took a decision not to resume the service until all abducted passengers have been released.

“God has made that possible. The security agencies have made that possible, none of them was injured not one of them was hurt,” he added.