The Nigerian Railway Corporation has attributed the suspension of operations on some of its rail lines to insecurity, banditry, and vandalism of its rail tracks.

John Otivere, an official of the NRC in Niger, disclosed this in Minna during an interview on the state of railway infrastructure across the country.

Mr Otivere spoke on behalf of Blessing Okanezi, district rail superintendent, NRC, Minna

Mr Otivere explained that the challenges of insecurity and vandalism had forced the corporation to halt operations on some routes.

The NRC offical stated that the narrow-gauge rail lines were hindered by security challenges.

“Our lines are not abandoned. Our train originates from Lagos down to Kano and returns from Kano down to Lagos,” he said.

The NRC official said the locations mostly affected by insecurity were Gwada, Sarkin-Pawa to Kuchi in Niger down to Gaddani towards Gwadada in Kaduna State.

He added that the train station in Gaddani, a border community between Niger and Kaduna, had been closed for a long time now due to the activities of bandits.

He added that Wushishi, Pakara and Akere also experienced the same challenges, adding that its last operations were in December 2022.

Also speaking, Femi Adewakun, NRC’s district internal auditor in Niger, said the district carried out regular maintenance of its locomotive engines and rail lines.

Mr Adewakun, who also spoke on behalf of Suleiman Obafun, the railway district manager in Niger, underscored the importance of the rail network to the country’s economy and the need to prioritise the services.

“Here, we operate narrow gauge, and we have always carried out maintenance of all our locomotive engines and rail line inspections on a daily basis,” he said.

Similarly, Akin Atanda, district civil engineer, NRC in Niger, highlighted the impact of vandalism and banditry activities on railway operations.

He said some locations had been completely taken over by bandits, making it impossible to carry out maintenance or operate trains safely.

Mr Atanda added that vandals had been removing track fastenings in some locations, such as the Beji axis.

“Some of the vandals were arrested and taken to court, while some are in prison,” he said.

He also cited the issue of washout of rail lines, particularly in Mokwa, where erosion had removed some complete tracks.

Mr Atanda said the combination of these challenges had affected train operations in the areas.

(NAN)