The corporation’s Director of Operations, Mr Niyi Alli, in a statement, said the services would commence on Jan. 31.

“The Board and Management of Nigerian Railway Corporation are pleased to announce the recommencement of the Abuja-Kaduna Train Service.

“The service was suspended on Jan. 27, due to the derailment that occurred at Kubwa Station on the same date.

“Subsequently, the service will resume on Jan. 31, with the following daily schedule – KA2 departs Rigasa at 0700; AK1 departs Idu at 10.00; KA4 departs Rigasa at 13.00; AK3 departs Idu at 16.00.

“However on Wednesdays only KA2 will depart Rigasa at 0700 and AK 3 will depart Idu at 16.00,” Alli said.

The director expressed regret for any inconvenience the corporation’s esteemed passengers might have experienced as a result of the temporary suspension of the service.

He however expressed the Federal Government’s commitment to providing safe and better services to the public.

Other items include, among others, the completion of the Abuja-Kaduna railway, the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan and related additional works, the rehabilitation of the Itakpe-Ajaokuta rail line and the construction of 12 NOS stations and track laying works at the railway ancillary facilities area in Agbor

The sum, which is a component of the executive proposal of the federal government in the 2023 Appropriations Bill, also includes about N126.53 billion for the parent Ministry of Transport.

Of the figure, the Ministry of Transport headquarters gets N93.66 billion; Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, gets N20.45 billion; National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, gets N5.39 billion.

Others are: National Institute of Transportation, NIT, which gets N4.69; Maritime Academy, Oron, receives N1.55 billion, while Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria gets N775 million.

Also, the Federal Government has proposed to spend a total of N4,31 billion of its N126.53 billion budget on purchase of trains, under the line items, code: 23010111, while N100 billion would be expended on facilitating the Mass Transit scheme.

Procurement and rehabilitation of rolling stock (Narrow Gauge), and rehabilitation of narrow gauge track from Minna to Narrow with extension to the Baro River Port, which are ongoing, would gulp N2.98 billion.

Also, establishment and management of six national freight offices nationwide, which is ongoing gulps N100 million, while N10 million would be spent on education and construction of speed reduction signages using the International Road Assessment Program, CIRAP, with Federal Capital Territory Authority, FCTA.

The federal government has also planned to spend N45 million on rehabilitation of central Air conditioner system, toilets and offices and leakages on the roof, and physical head count of staff of the ministry.

The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo disclosed this while giving the scorecard of his ministry in Abuja.

He said adequate security has been put in place to ensure the safety of passengers. The Minister, however, did not give any specific date for the resumption.

Sambo said the ministry has learnt enough lessons from the attack in March which claimed the lives of several passengers leading to the suspension of train service on the Abuja-Kaduna route.

The Minister of Transportation,  Mu’azu Sambo made this known during an inspection visit to the Idu and Kubwa train stations in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said the Federal Government is deploying advanced technologies to rail services across the country to forestall similar security breaches.

Recall that on March 28, 2022, an Abuja-Kaduna train was attacked, leading to deaths and the abductions of more than 60 passengers.

Some of the victims have been freed since the attack and on Tuesday, five of the abducted passengers also regained their freedom, bringing the total number of released victims to 37.

However, about 35 passengers remain in the captivity of the bandits.

The families of abducted passengers have led several protests demanding the government to facilitate the release of their loved ones.

They also protested initial plans by the government to re-open the Abuja-Kaduna route.

Many of those released appear to have regained their freedom in exchange for ransoms to the bandits, security experts believe.

The Federal Government has said it will not negotiate with terrorists.

Recall that the NRC had stopped operations on the route, following an attack on a train by bandits causing the death of eight passengers, while many were kidnapped.

But in a statement on Friday, Yakubu Mahmood, the spokesperson of NRC, said a new date would be announced soon.

“Sequel to our earlier Press Release No. 10 dated 16th May 2022 on the above caption, the General Public is kindly invited to note the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) is announcing a shift in the resumption date for Abuja Kaduna,” the statement reads.

Mahmood also assured the distraught families that it was working hard to secure the victims’ release.

Presidential aide, Garba Shehu disclosed this on Friday while reacting to the suspension of the resumption of operations on the rail track when he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“Of course, we are aware that there has been resistance from family members of those who have been taken captive.

“This is expected. This then should act as a pressure on all of the people who are involved in the ongoing discussion with the terrorists to ensure a safe release of those that are being held,” he said.

He explained that the government is committed to ensuring that those affected by the attack and still in captivity will be released alive even though the negotiations might be difficult.

“The position of the government has been stated and restated over time that the success of any operation would be determined by the number of recovery of human beings alive and well; not at the return of dead bodies,” he maintained.

The President’s spokesman said the government wants normalcy to return to the Kaduna-Abuja route, noting that there is an improvement in the security of the area.

“Yes, there is an improvement in security. The air surveillance has been announced by the former Minister of Transportation (Rotimi Amaechi) and the President, as far as we know, has okayed the electronic monitoring and surveillance platform that would ensure that there is the tracking, far and near, of all that is going on along the rail track; not only between Kaduna and Abuja but even Ibadan and Lagos,” the media aide stated.

“So, I believe that people are doing what it would take to put those appliances in place so that total safety would be ensured.”

To buttress his point about the safety of the rail track, he said he would have been on board had the services resumed as planned.

“If the trains had resumed, I would have been on the train because I believe that I have received enough assurances from the Ministry of Transportation and security services that they are safe,” the presidential aide said.

This comes as the Federal Government orders the reopening of the Abuja-Kaduna train service, saying the decision to resume services does not mean efforts to secure the safe release of those abducted will be put on hold.

But the aggrieved relatives insisted that there will be no resumption of train services until all 61 passengers who were abducted are rescued.

Reacting to the statement by the NRC on the planned Resumption of Services to Channels Television, the chairman of the concerned Relatives of Abducted Persons, Dr. Abdulfatai Jimoh accused the NRC management of being insensitive towards the plight of the victims and their families.

While reiterating their earlier call for the immediate sack of the NRC management over gross incompetence, Jimoh lamented that most of the relatives of the victims have become helpless with some of them attempting to commit suicide due to the lingering stay of their loved ones in the custody of the terrorists.

He, however, appealed to President Muhammad Buhari to facilitate the speedy rescue of the kidnapped victims as the commander in chief of the nation’s Armed Forces, adding that the lives of the people should be of them attempting to commit suicide due to the lingering stay of their loved ones in the custody of the terrorists.

He, however, appealed to President Muhammad Buhari to facilitate the speedy rescue of the kidnapped victims as the commander in chief of the nation’s Armed Forces, adding that the lives of the people should be of utmost importance to the President and the Federal government.

Recall that gunmen had on the on March 28, 2022, attacked passengers on an Abuja-Kaduna bound train at Dutse Forest in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna state.

Eight People lost their lives, 26 were injured while 62 others including women and children were kidnapped during the attack.

So far, only two of  the victims has been released, while the remaining 60 are yet to secure their release making it 50 days in custody of the gunmen.

The reopening of the train service comes several weeks after it was suspended on the route following the terrorists attacked on a train, fatally shot several persons, and abducted scores of passengers in March.

While most of those abducted are still in captivity,  the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) spokesperson Yakubu Mahmood, in a statement said the decision to resume services does not mean efforts to secure the safe release of those abducted will be put on hold.

Meanwhile, the families of those abducted have threatened to resist the reopening of the train service.

“. . . the Government wishes to assure the relatives of the abducted citizens still in captivity that the safe rescue of these passengers is a top priority and not to misconstrue the resumption of train services, as abandonment or nonchalant attitude of the government towards their plight,” the NRC statement said.

“The Federal Government will never abdicate its responsibility in rescuing these valuable citizens, however, the government assures of its resolve not to succumb to threats by any faceless group.”

The NRC also assured that additional security measures are being put in place to beef up security at the train stations and along the track.

“These measures are not only for the Abuja-Kaduna Train Service (AKTS) but also for all the passenger train services especially on the standard gauge railway lines,” the statement said.

“Consequently, the passengers are hereby enjoined to cooperate with the NRC in order to enjoin improved service delivery, safety and comfort by patiently complying with additional measures that will surely be introduced for the safety of our passengers, such as requesting for passengers National Identification Numbers (NIN) as part of our internal security check.”

The NRC said customers must present a Valid Photo Identification Card (ID) and a reachable telephone number of Next of Kin (NOK) or close relative before boarding a train.

Online and offline purchase of tickets must contain the passengers individual profile or identification data, the NRC said.