A Kaduna-bound train from Abuja on Wednesday broke down about 1000 meters to the Railway Station in Rigasa, Kaduna.
It was learnt that passengers on board the train had to disembark with their luggage on their heads or hands and walk to the station when it became obvious that the fault cannot be fixed immediately and it would take more than two hours to drive another train from the Idu Terminal in Abuja.
The passengers were, however, escorted by teams of mobile policemen on board the train and those at the station to Rigasa.
An eyewitness at the station said they saw the light of the train when it was approaching the station, but all of a sudden it stopped.
“We couldn’t hear the sound of the train again and later when we waited and the approaching light became stationary we were told by some of the staff that the train had developed fault, and couldn’t complete the journey to the station,” he said.
He said the passengers who were in their hundreds were advised to come down and walk the distance since they were already in Kaduna.
“There was no tension as both the mobile police on the train and the ones in the station escorted the passengers to the station. The passengers were all calm when they arrived the station and all left for their various destinations,” he added.
Our correspondent learnt that attempts by some commercial tricycle drivers to enter the station to reach the passengers did not yield fruit as they were prevented from entering the station.
Attempts by our correspondent to get the officials of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC, to comment on the incident has so far not been successful.
Checks by our correspondent, however, revealed that another train was sent from Abuja, which later pulled the coaches to the Rigasa Station. (Daily Post)