Nigerians are increasingly utilizing the rail transportation system, with revenue climbing to ₦1.69 billion in the second quarter of 2024 a 53.14% rise from the ₦1.10 billion reported in the same quarter of 2023.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released this data in a Thursday report highlighting a significant shift towards rail travel. In 2023, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) generated ₦1.07 billion from passenger services alone.
The report noted that a total of 689,263 passengers traveled by rail in Q2 2024, reflecting a 45.38% increase compared to 474,117 passengers during the same period last year. Additionally, the volume of goods transported by rail saw a substantial rise, with 143,759 tons moved in Q2 2024, up from 56,936 tons in Q2 2023.
The NRC also reported an increase in pipeline transportation, moving 5,940 tons of goods in Q2 2024, compared to 2,856 tons in the same period the previous year.
Revenue from goods transported by rail reached ₦537.36 million in Q2 2024, marking a 206.68% increase from ₦175.22 million in Q2 2023. Pipeline transport contributed ₦42.08 million to revenue in Q2 2024, up from ₦12.81 million a year earlier.
Other revenue sources surged to ₦994.68 million in Q2 2024, an astonishing 5,206.68% increase compared to ₦18.74 million in the corresponding quarter of last year.
Despite these impressive figures, Nigeria spent 2,470% more on railway debt servicing than it generated from rail service revenue in the first quarter of 2024. The NRC recorded a peak revenue of ₦2.12 billion in the first half of 2021, a 31% increase over the same period in 2019, while revenue from freight transport remains down, with growth primarily driven by passenger services between Lagos and Ibadan on the new standard gauge line.
