Five days after the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) resumed passenger train operations on the Warri-Itakpe route, a passenger train derailed on Saturday at Kilometre 212+8m in Agbor, Delta State.
The NRC has confirmed the incident, stating that all passengers on board were safely evacuated to Agbor, and everyone has been fully accounted for, with no casualties or injuries reported.
In a statement released on Sunday by Dr. Kayode Opeifa, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NRC, preliminary investigations suggest that the incident may have been caused by suspected track vandalism.
According to the NRC, “The Management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) wishes to inform the general public that a train derailment incident occurred yesterday at approximately 19:30 hours, involving two out of the seven coaches of our Warri–Itakpe Train Service (WITS) at Kilometer 212+8m, Agbor.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the incident may have been caused by suspected track vandalism.
“We are pleased to confirm that all passengers on board were safely evacuated to Agbor, and everyone has been fully accounted for. No casualties or injuries were recorded.
“Our recovery team, supported by security personnel, has been at the site since last night carrying out recovery operations. These efforts are progressing steadily and are expected to be completed soon.
“As a precautionary measure, train services on the corridor have been temporarily suspended today to enable a comprehensive security and safety audit of the track and related infrastructure.
“We sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause our valued passengers and the general public. Normal operations will resume as soon as it is verified safe to do so.”
Recall that the service has been suspended multiple times following derailment issues and need to fix the train tracks that had been badly impaired following series of vandalisation activities around the rail tracks.
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