The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has denied the derailment of the train along the Asham axis of the Abuja–Kaduna rail corridor.
In a statement released on Monday, the Corporation addressed the conflicting accounts of the mishap.
The NRC explained that a derailment specifically refers to a situation where a train’s wheels leave the tracks, rendering further movement impossible.
However, in the Asham incident, the train remained firmly on the tracks and was able to continue its journey to Idu Station in Abuja, where passengers disembarked as planned.
Preliminary investigations by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) and the NRC indicate that the incident involved a rear locomotive that became detached and subsequently made contact with the rear coach of the moving train.
While the impact caused a loud bang and led to injuries among several of the 429 passengers on board, officials emphasized that the integrity of the rail-to-wheel connection was never compromised.
The NRC urged both the public and media organizations to rely exclusively on verified information to avoid spreading panic.
The Corporation noted that while the train arrived approximately 38 minutes behind schedule due to the time taken to remove the affected locomotive and coach, emergency response protocols ensured that all injured passengers received immediate first aid before being transferred to medical facilities upon arrival.