Revenue from rail transport increase by 69% in Q2 2023 – NBS

The revenue generated from rail transport in the second of 2023 increased from N768 million in the first quarter to N1.1 billion- an increase of 69.7%.

This is according to data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). When compared to the corresponding quarter of 2022, revenue from rail transport increased by 83% from N598.74 million to the current N1.1bn.

In the second quarter of 2023, a total of N188.03 million was generated from the transportation of goods and cargo via rail, marking a significant increase of 105.04% compared to the N91.70 million recorded in the same quarter of 2022.

Furthermore, miscellaneous income during Q2 2023 amounted to N18.74 million, reflecting a decline of 62.31% from the N49.73 million reported in Q2 2022.

In terms of number of passengers using rail transport for the period, the rail system witnessed a notable increase in passenger travel, with a total of 474,117 passengers, showing a growth rate of 12.25% compared to the 422,393 passengers reported in the same quarter of 2022.

Additionally, the transportation of goods and cargo in Q2 2023 amounted to 56,029 tons, a decline from the 59,996 tons recorded in the first quarter of 2023. However, when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2022, the volume of cargo increased from 31,197 tons.

Nigeria has long sought to revitalize its rail industry to ease the transport and movement of people and goods across the country. Currently, the country has a slew of ongoing projects aimed at connecting the major towns and cities via rail. These include the Lagos to Calabar coastal railway, Port-Harcourt to Maiduguri rail project, Kano to Maradi, etc.

In March 2023 former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the constitutional amendment to allow state governments to own and build rail lines in their states. Lagos had keyed into this initiative long ago and just this week launched the first metro rail line in the country projected to carry around 150,000 persons daily.