It is 2025. Nigeria boasts of being on the path to infrastructural renewal, and the Abuja-Kaduna railway line was meant to be a shining example of modern transport in the country. But what we experience daily on that train is far from progress. It is frustration wrapped in steel and motion.
This morning, June 9th, 2025, I boarded the 7:00 a.m. train from the Rigasa station in Kaduna. As scheduled, the train moved at exactly 7:00 a.m., but in less than a minute, it abruptly stopped. For 32 long minutes, passengers were left in suspense. No movement. No explanation. No apology.
This is not just a minor hiccup. It is symbolic of the bigger rot that defines how public services are delivered in Nigeria with utter disregard for the feelings, the time, and the dignity of ordinary citizens.
Even more irritating is the way passengers are often treated like cargo, not humans. On many occasions, passengers stand before locked doors for up to five minutes before they’re allowed to alight. Imagine elderly people, nursing mothers, and those with health conditions waiting helplessly while train doors refuse to open.
Let’s talk about the restrooms. In most coaches, the toilets have become a disgrace. Non-functional, dirty, and unfit for any human use. What happens when a sick person urgently needs to use the toilet? Or when a child is in distress? Nobody seems to care.
Then, there is the unbearable heat at the Abuja train terminal. The so-called waiting room is a furnace. Fans don’t work, air conditioning is absent, and passengers sweat profusely as they await boarding. Is this how we treat citizens in a country with billions allocated to infrastructure?
The Abuja-Kaduna train service was once hailed as a breakthrough in Nigerian transport. But today, it is sliding into mediocrity due to poor maintenance, lack of accountability, and clear disrespect for passengers.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation must understand that train travel is not a privilege it is a public service. And the public deserves better. Passengers deserve prompt explanations when things go wrong. They deserve working restrooms, functioning doors, clean terminals, and, above all, respect.
It is time for the Ministry of Transportation, the Nigerian Railway Corporation, and all relevant authorities to wake up. We can not continue to fund failure. Nigerians are not asking for luxury they are simply asking for efficiency, decency, and safety.
The Abuja-Kaduna train line should be a national pride, not a source of national embarrassment.
Muhammad Iskeel Abdullahi,
For: Journalist for Development.
