The monthly revenue realized from train service operations on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line has decreased from N500 million to N1 million monthly, according to Engr. Fidet Okhiria, the Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, or NRC.
On Wednesday in Abuja, during the inspection of the Idu Train Station, Okhiria said the main goal of the visit was to address several problems brought up by the minister of transportation, Saidu Alkali, including the lack of escalators, elevators, and security guard allowances.
He said, “Right now, instead of the ten return trips we were making before that event, we now make two. We were operating from 6 am to 10 night, but we have been told not to operate past 6 pm.
Therefore, we are optimistic that we can start the full operation when the security situation normalizes and they can provide us with advice so that we can break even.
The managing director stated that they have already paid two of the five months’ worth of unpaid allowances and anticipate finishing the process soon.
The train was successfully rendered immobile between Katari and Rijana last year after criminals detonated a bomb on the rail track of the Abuja-Kaduna line.
They abducted a number of passengers, who were later freed after an unknown ransom was paid.