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.
“The Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr Kayode Opeifa, says the Kano–Minna train services will resume before the end of 2025 to boost economic activities in the area.
“The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Opeifa made this known during an official visit to the Northern District Office in Zaria on Friday.
“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,” the NAN report read in part.
The NRC MD emphasized 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.
More insights
The NAN report noted that the Regional District Manager for the North, Mr. Adewale Rasheed, described the Northern district as the largest in Nigeria by landmass and staff strength, yet largely inactive.
He 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.
- In his remarks, the Chairman of the National Union of Railway Workers (NUR), Zaria branch, Mr. Aminu Abdullahi, 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.
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.
