The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, has attributed the derailment that occurred at Asham Station on August 26, 2025, to poor maintenance and faulty switch factors for the Abuja–Kaduna train.
NSIB’s preliminary findings revealed on Wednesday that the derailment was triggered by defective infrastructure and lapses in safety management by the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC.
The bureau said that a final report is expected to provide deeper conclusions and additional safety measures, saying that the findings were preliminary and subject to further analysis.
The report showed that shortly after the train passed a manually operated switch point that had been previously declared unserviceable, the derailment occurred.
Some of the track, according to NSIB investigators, revealed that sleepers damaged during the earlier derailment about 13 months ago were only patched instead of being fully replaced, while the point clip used to secure the switch was broken at the time of the incident.
The report also highlighted that the train drivers were qualified, but had only received initial training without formal refresher courses, noting that critical equipment such as CCTV cameras, communication devices, and clocks were also defective.
The report further said operational and maintenance tools, including spare parts from the Original Equipment Manufacturer, OEM, were largely inaccessible.
The NSIB further issued safety recommendations, urging the NRC to replace all compromised sleepers, install OEM-standard point switches along the Abuja–Kaduna route, and restore all defective monitoring equipment.
The report also recommended regular refresher training for NRC staff to prevent further accidents.
21 passengers sustained injuries, while no lives were lost among the 618 people on board the ill-fated train service.
Why Abuja-Kaduna train derailed — NSIB report