The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has suspended train services between Port Harcourt and Aba for routine maintenance, with operations scheduled to resume on September 9, 2025.
The announcement was contained in a press release signed by the Managing Director of NRC, Dr. Kayode Opeifa, and shared on the corporation’s official X handle on Thursday, September 4, 2025.
Dr. Opeifa noted that the suspension was temporary, assuring passengers that regular train services would resume as planned.
“Port-Harcourt to Aba train services [are] suspended for routine maintenance.
“To resume regular train services on the 9th of September 2025,” the statement read.
The NRC apologised to passengers who might be affected by the disruption, noting that it regretted all inconveniences caused.
The maintenance comes just months after the Port Harcourt–Aba train service went operational in July 2025, following the completion of rehabilitation works on the corridor.
The service, which runs Tuesday to Saturday, departs Port Harcourt at 8:00 a.m. and returns from Aba at 3:00 p.m., with fares fixed at N1,500 for first class and N800 for standard class.
The Port Harcourt–Aba train service, which began operations in July 2025, is a vital transport link for commuters and traders in Rivers and Abia States, serving stations at Port Harcourt, Elelenwo, Obuzor, Umugo, and Aba.
It forms part of the larger Port Harcourt–Maiduguri Eastern Narrow Gauge Railway project, which was financed through a $3 billion agreement reached in March 2021 between the Federal Government and a syndicate of Chinese financiers, with Nigeria contributing 15% and the syndicate covering 85%.
Reconstruction commenced in 2022 during the Buhari administration, and by January 2024, track laying on the Port Harcourt–Aba corridor had been completed.
In November 2024, the Federal Government officially handed over the 62-kilometre stretch to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), along with 283 kilometers of dismantled tracks, 62.8 kilometers of rehabilitated subgrade and mainline rail, 5.7 kilometers of sliding lines, and 27 reconstructed turnouts across the key stations.
Since then, the service has operated from Tuesday to Saturday, with trains leaving Port Harcourt at 8:00 a.m. and returning from Aba at 3:00 p.m. Fares are set at N1,500 for first class and N800 for standard class, making it an affordable and dependable travel option for passengers within the region.