Sh*ck As Train Derails Just Three Days After Service Resumption — Passengers Escape Death

Barely three days after operations resumed, a Warri–Itakpe train derailed on Saturday night, reigniting public concern over rail safety and persistent vandalism along Nigeria’s major routes.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) confirmed that the derailment occurred around 7:30 p.m. at Kilometre 212+8m in Agbor, involving two of the seven coaches on the Warri–Itakpe Standard Gauge service.

In a statement issued on Sunday, NRC Managing Director, Kayode Opeifa, said preliminary findings suggest the incident resulted from suspected track vandalism.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that the incident may have been caused by suspected track vandalism.
We wish to inform the public that the derailment involved two out of seven coaches at Kilometre 212+8m, Agbor,” he stated.

Opeifa confirmed that all passengers were safely evacuated and accounted for, with no casualties or injuries reported.

“All passengers on board were successfully evacuated to Agbor, and everyone has been fully accounted for,” he added.

According to the NRC, a recovery team supported by security personnel has been on-site since Saturday night to retrieve the derailed coaches and restore the affected track section.
Opeifa noted that “recovery efforts are progressing steadily and are expected to be completed soon.”

As a precaution, the NRC has temporarily suspended services on the Warri–Itakpe corridor to allow for a comprehensive safety and security audit of the line.

“Train operations on the corridor have been suspended to enable a full inspection of the track and related infrastructure. We regret any inconvenience caused to our valued passengers and assure that services will resume once it is deemed safe,” the statement read.

The derailment comes just three days after the NRC restarted operations on the route on October 29, following months of suspension for “urgent and critical track repairs” prompted by widespread theft of rail materials.

The latest incident also follows a series of similar accidents across the country’s railway network, including a derailment on the Abuja–Kaduna line that left several passengers injured earlier this year.

Despite ongoing efforts to modernize the rail system, the NRC continues to struggle with recurrent vandalism, theft of rail components, and infrastructure decay—issues that threaten the reliability of Nigeria’s expanding railway network.

While Lagos has made progress with its intra-state electric rail service, most inter-state routes—including Warri–Itakpe, Abuja–Kaduna, and Lagos–Ibadan—still depend on conventional systems that remain vulnerable to both criminal activity and technical faults.