The Nigerian Railway Corporation traces its history to the year 1898, when the first railroad in Nigeria was constructed by the British colonial government.

With the passing of the Nigerian Railway Corporation Act of 1955, the company gained its current name as well as the exclusive legal right to construct and operate rail service in Nigeria.

Shortly after that, the NRC entered a long period of decline, inept management, and eventually a complete lack of maintenance of rail and locomotive assets.

[3] Starting in 2006, plans were made to restore the rail lines and add new locomotives with foreign assistance.

The project also includes new branch lines to Owerri and Damaturu, increasing the total length 2,044 km.

Train services in this area, northeastern Nigeria, were at a standstill due to the Boko Haram unrest and were subsequently renovated.

An earlier standard gauge line of 51.5 kilometers operated between the Itakp mines and the Ajaokuta steel mill.

On 29 September 2020, an extension, the Warri-Itakpe Railway, was officially opened by President Muhammadu Buhari in a virtual ceremony.

The 186.5-kilometer line, which begins in Idu 20 kilometers west of central Abuja, requires two hours of travel time for high-speed trains with a maximum speed of 100 km/h.

"[21] Celebrities are also affected: As recently as November 20, 2021, Zamfara State governorship candidate Sagir Hamidu died in a robbery on the said Abuja-Kaduna Expressway.

[23] On 28 March 2022, the Abuja-Kaduna line was the target of a terrorist attack in which a large number of passengers and train staff were killed or kidnapped.

[25] The Lagos-Ibadan double-track line has been under construction by CCECC since March 2017 and was inaugurated at the new Lagos Central Station on June 10, 2021.

[28] The Cape Gauge tracks, which continue to exist, are to be shared by the "Red Line" of the Lagos Light Rail, which is currently under construction.

The new main station of Lagos, Mobolaji Johnson, for example, offers air-conditioned waiting rooms, handicapped access to the tracks, airport-like display boards of departure times, clean toilets, trained personnel for medical emergencies, etc.

Lack of maintenance on infrastructure and rolling stock and a high number of employees the railway produced huge deficits, not taken over by the state.

According to the critique by Mazi Jetson Nwankwo (February 2007 to May 2011) acting managing director of the NRC the rail system is suffering from the lack of political will by the nation's politicians.