NIGERIAN RAILWAY CORPORATION

Brief History

The Nigerian Railway System pioneered the rapid opening up of the geographical area called Nigeria. The Railway System, therefore represents the oldest modern form of transportation in Nigeria.

Railway development in Nigeria was initiated by private interest. This was later taken over by the then Colonial Government as Government Railway for the purpose of easy and cheap movement of bulk goods from the hinterlands to the seaports and vice versa.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation is over 112 years old and it runs a unilaterally designed track system of 1067mm cape gauge. Nigerian Railway System actually commenced rail business activities with the construction of the first rail line from Lagos to Ibadan (193km) between 1898 and 1901. By 1964 when the construction of 640km kano – Maiduguri rail line, then known as Bornu extension, was completed, the present core of the railway network had been put in place.

NRC RAISES FRESH ALARM OVER COORDINATED RAILWAY VANDALISM IN PLATEAU AND BAUCHI STATES

Lagos, May 23, 2026: The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has raised serious concern over renewed and coordinated attacks on railway infrastructure in parts of the country. This followed fresh incidents of vandalism recorded in Plateau and Bauchi States. The Corporation described the disturbing development as a […]

NRC Increases Lagos–Ibadan Train Trips for Sallah, Osun State to Operate Free Train Service on NRC Narrow Gauge

The Management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced a temporary increase in train services on the Lagos–Ibadan Train Service (LITS) corridor for Tuesday, May 26, 2026, ahead of the Sallah celebration. The temporary adjustment is aimed at accommodating the expected increase in passenger movement […]