NRC to resume Kano-Minna train services before end of 2025

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced plans to resume train services along the Kano–Minna corridor before the end of 2025, as part of efforts to revitalise rail transport and boost economic activity across Northern Nigeria.

NRC Managing Director, Dr Kayode Opeifa, made this known during an official visit to the corporation’s Northern District Office in Zaria on Friday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Opeifa stated that the corporation will reactivate key equipment in the region using allocations from the 2025 capital expenditure.

He also revealed that NRC is engaging with the governments of Niger, Kano, and Kaduna states to restore shuttle operations along the Minna–Kaduna and Kaduna–Kano routes.

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He said that NRC would also fix the equipment within the Northern Regional District towards achieving the set target, adding that the corporation was also planning to achieve such a target from the 2025 capital expenditure.

Opeifa emphasised that the move is in line with Nigeria’s new railway governance framework, where rail operations now fall under the concurrent legislative list, allowing for greater state involvement.

He also noted that NRC will collaborate with the Kaduna State Government to revitalise the railway hospital in Zaria and support security agencies such as the Police and NSCDC in curbing vandalism of railway property.

The NAN report noted that Adewale Rasheed, regional district manager for the North, described the Northern district as the largest in Nigeria by landmass and staff strength, yet largely inactive.

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Rasheed stressed the urgent need to revive major routes, such as Lagos–Kano, Kano–Nguru, Kaduna–Minna, and Zaria–Kauran Namoda, to re-engage idle staff and restore full operations across the district.

The resumption of train services on the Kano–Minna corridor is expected to improve connectivity, facilitate trade, and strengthen the role of rail infrastructure in the region’s economic growth.

Aminu Abdullahi, chairman of the National Union of Railway Workers (NUR), Zaria branch, in his remarks, raised concerns over unresolved staff welfare issues, including unpaid promotion arrears dating back to 2018 and prolonged stagnation in career advancement, especially among gangers.

He also called on the NRC to address persistent concerns related to the Railway Property Company, which he said has been a source of frustration for staff.