The derailed Kano-Lagos passenger train at Kakau village in Kaduna ... on Monday.
The frequency of train accidents in Nigeria is becoming worrisome and may soon overtake road and plane crashes,RASHEED BISIRIYU writes
On Monday, a Lagos-bound passenger train coming from Kano derailed at a village near Kaduna. Four people were reportedly injured.
The accident occurred between Barkin Kasua and Kakau when the train crashed into a truck obstructing the rail track.
And just before a high-powered team of the engineering, operations and safety officials of the Nigerian Railway Corporation sent to the site of the accident could complete its rescue mission, a cement train also reportedly derailed on Tuesday at Kajola, near Abeokuta.
Hundreds of people aboard an Ilorin-bound train that left Lagos Tuesday morning became stranded at Ijoko Train Station, some kilometres to the accident spot.
A couple of weeks ago, precisely May 29, 2013, a similar accident had occurred in Agege, Lagos. A number of passengers, with the train driver, sustained injuries. The driver was said to have run the mass transit train into an improperly aligned rail, causing the derailment.
Two days later, a man was crushed to death in Minna by another Lagos-bound train, coming from Kano.
The incident caused a commotion as aggrieved residents of the area almost took the law into their hand in a reprisal attack but for the timely arrival of policemen at the scene prevented the situation from getting out of hand.
An NRC official claimed the truck involved in the Kaduna derailment had broken down. But a passenger of the train said the truck suddenly drove onto the track and the train had to crush it, leading to the derailment.
He said four coaches fell off the track with the locomotive.
Train services have increased since the beginning of the year in some parts of the country following the restoration of the Lagos-Kano rail track, which was in a state of disrepair for many years.
More people are expectedly joining the train to reduce their travel time and escape from the trouble of road traffic congestion.
The Managing Director, NRC, Mr. Adeseyi Sijuwade, has given a hint that the Port Harcourt- Maiduguri train would return at the end of the year when the rehabilitation of the line would have been completed.
There are fears that the nation would witness increase in train mishaps as old routes are restored and new ones currently being constructed come on stream.
Many accidents involving train and vehicles often occur at level crossings. For instance, the NRC confirmed in a recent report that over 80 per cent of rail accidents were recorded at the level crossings.
It said the report was based on a recent research of rail accidents, and warned pedestrians, motorists and other road users to be safety conscious when approaching the rail track.
The Deputy Director for Research, Health, Safety and Environmental Services, Mr. James Gyang, attributed the accidents at level crossings to the impatience and poor safety conduct of level crossing users.
Rooftop passengers have remained a regular sight on the heavily congested Lagos mass transit trains despite the public outcry against the practice and the occasional raids on the illegal passengers.
And some of the dangerous riders pay dearly with their lives as unconfirmed report says at least two people drop dead weekly on the train.
The Abuja mass transit train is also under construction. Over 80 per cent of the Ajaokuta-Itakpe rail line, the first standard gauge track, has been completed.
Contracts for more new rail lines are being awarded. For instance, an approval for a standard gauge line between Lagos and Kano has been granted, with Lagos-Ibadan new line already awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.
CCECC is currently developing the Lagos light rail from CMS to Okokomaiko (blue line); it will also most likely handle the red line (Iddo-Agbado) – both are standard gauge double track lines, which are part of the state’s mass transit scheme.
Already, new locomotives have been ordered; 25 new engines delivered earlier in the year by the General Electric have been introduced into the system to replace the epileptic engines.
There are also plans to remove the exclusive right to run train from the hand of the Federal Government and allow state, local governments and interested private firms into the business.
And by implications, these are activities indicating that train operations are on the rise, which also raises the fears of frequent accidents on the track.
An average of four people die in road accidents in Nigeria, according to the Federal Road Safety Corps. This figure may be a child’s play when all the rail projects are completed unless drastic measures are taken to arrest the situation.
A NRC assistant director, Mr. Oyewole Oyekunle, at recent safety campaign programme in Lagos, said, “The track is getting busier these days as frequency of trains keeps increasing and it will be most unfortunate if other level crossing users are not reminded from time to time of the need for extreme caution at the level crossing.” 
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