Nigerian Railways shuts train services nationwide

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced the shut down of all passenger train services with effect from Monday.

Spokesman of the NRC, Mr. Yakub Mahmood, said the board and management of the corporation approved the shut down as a measure to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The statement attributed the shut down to the “already known COVID-19 outbreak.”

“Further information on passengers’ train services will be made available in due course to our esteemed passengers,” the statement said.

Daily Trust learnt that the shut down affects all standard and narrow gauge train services on Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ogun routes as well as the ongoing free trial run of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge.

A senior NRC official, who spoke with our correspondent, said: “This is response to the nationwide lockdown in response to COVID-19 outbreak. This is in order to safeguard the lives of the passengers and our staff.

“The shutdown affects all train services including your darling Abuja-Kaduna train and all narrow gauge services on Ido-Ijoko route until further notice.”