The Senate has expressed concern over the worsening condition of Nigeria’s rail services, with lawmakers lamenting that trains on the Abuja-Kaduna route now travel at a pace slower than bicycles.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio made the remark while inaugurating an ad hoc committee to probe the rail system.

“If you are using a bicycle, you will get to Kaduna from Abuja faster than the train,” Akpabio said.

The committee, chaired by former Edo State governor Adams Oshiomhole, has six weeks to investigate rail operations, equipment quality and management efficiency.

The issue followed complaints by senators over what they described as a sharp decline in services on the once-celebrated Abuja–Kaduna-Kano corridor.

Raising the matter at plenary, Senator Abdul Ningi recounted his recent experience on the route, saying journeys that once lasted about 90 minutes now stretch beyond three hours.

“When the railway started, it was one and a half hours to Kaduna. Last week, we spent three and a half hours,” he said. “People had no alternative. This situation is deeply disturbing.”

Ningi added that passenger numbers had fallen from about 10,000 daily to fewer than 1,000, with trips reduced to just two shuttles per day, warning that revenue and public confidence had suffered.

He also alleged that some equipment used on the project may have been second-hand, suggesting Nigeria may have been short-changed.