More Nigerians Embrace Rail Transport As Revenue Jumps By 53% To ₦1.69bn Q2— NBS

More Nigerians are opting for rail transportation, with revenue from the sector rising to ₦1.69bn in the second quarter of 2024, marking a 53.14% increase from the ₦1.10bn recorded in the same period of 2023.

This was revealed in a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday. In 2023, the Nigerian Railway Corporation generated ₦1.07bn in revenue from passengers alone.

According to the NBS report, a total of 689,263 passengers traveled by rail in Q2 2024, reflecting a 45.38% growth compared to the 474,117 passengers during the same quarter in 2023.

The volume of goods transported by rail also saw a notable rise, with 143,759 tons of goods moved in Q2 2024, up from 56,936 tons in Q2 2023.

Additionally, the Nigerian Railway Corporation recorded 5,940 tons of goods transported via pipelines in Q2 2024, an increase from the 2,856 tons reported in Q2 2023.

Revenue generated from goods transported by rail reached ₦537.36m in Q2 2024, a substantial increase of 206.68% compared to ₦175.22m in the same period of 2023. Revenue from goods conveyed through pipelines also rose to ₦42.08m, up from ₦12.81m in Q2 2023.

Other revenue streams for the railway corporation amounted to ₦994.68m in Q2 2024, an extraordinary rise of 5,206.68% from the ₦18.74m collected in the same period last year.

However, in Q1 2024, Nigeria spent 2,470% more on railway debt servicing than it generated in rail service revenue.

Previously, in the first half of 2021, the Nigerian Railway Corporation achieved record revenues of ₦2.12bn, a 31% increase compared to the same period in 2019, with gains primarily from passenger transport between Lagos and Ibadan on the new standard gauge rail line.