The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has denied leaving Abuja-Kaduna train passengers stranded after the delay they experienced on the afternoon belt.
The Managing Director of the Corporation Dr Kayode Opeifa, said this in a statement on Thursday in Lagos.
Opeifa also apologised to all passengers on the afternoon belt of the Abuja-Kaduna Train Service (AKTS) over the delay.
He added that the delay was due to a procedural safety decision as the backup engine loses power moments after the train departed.
He also described as misleading the report which indicated that passengers on the train were stranded by the corporation.
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“The corporation’s premium on safety at all times informed the reason why the train returned to Kaduna, the moment it was discovered that the back-up engines was losing power.
“Though the train can push through but for security concerns on the route and since they are less than 30 minutes into the journey, it is advisable to pull back to Rigasa, Kaduna for safety reasons,” Opeifa said.
He said that the journey resumed at 4.00 p.m. (60 minutes after) and arrived Idu at 18.52 hour. Eighty minutes behind schedule.
“Passengers were kept informed through Public Address Systems (PAS) on the train and at the Rigasa Station,” he said.
He likened what happened to what happened to an aircraft that proceeded to the nearest airport rather than to its destination when one or both engines fail
He added that if it was morning trip, the train would have proceeded and shunt at the nearest train stations (Jere, Rijana or Gidan) but decided against it because it was evening trip.
The managing director apologised for the inconveniences experienced by the passengers, even as he urged the nation’s media houses to always clarify any reports they had before rushing out to publish to avoid misinforming their critical readers.
He reassured passengers and stakeholders that the NRC remained committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety and reliability across all its legacy corridors whether the narrow or standard gauges.
He added that the corporation remained committed to taking all its esteemed passengers to their destinations, safely.
