An increasing number of Nigerians are adopting the rail transportation system, with revenue reaching ₦1.69 billion in the second quarter of 2024. This marks a significant 53.14 percent rise compared to the ₦1.10 billion reported in the same quarter of 2023.
The National Bureau of Statistics revealed this information in a report released on Thursday. In 2023, the Nigerian Railway Corporation generated ₦1.07 billion in revenue from passenger services. The report indicates that a total of 689,263 passengers utilized the rail system in Q2, reflecting a growth rate of 45.38 percent compared to the 474,117 passengers recorded in the same quarter of 2023. Additionally, the volume of goods transported by rail experienced a noteworthy increase, with 143,759 tons moved in Q2 2024, up from 56,936 tons in Q2 2023.
Furthermore, the Nigerian Railway Corporation reported transporting 5,940 tons of goods through pipelines in Q2 2024, a significant increase from the 2,856 tons recorded during the same period the previous year. Revenue from goods transported by rail reached ₦537.36 million in Q2 2024, marking an impressive rise of 206.68 percent compared to ₦175.22 million in Q2 2023. The revenue generated from goods moved through pipelines also saw growth, totaling ₦42.08 million in Q2 2024, up from ₦12.81 million in Q2 2023. Additionally, other revenue streams amounted to ₦994.68 million in Q2 2024, reflecting a staggering increase of 5,206.68 percent from the ₦18.74 million recorded during the same quarter last year. In the first quarter of 2024, Nigeria’s expenditure on railway debt servicing was 2,470 percent higher than the revenue generated from rail services.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation achieved record revenues of ₦2.12 billion in the first half of 2021, marking a 31 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019, which had previously set the record. Meanwhile, revenue from freight transport declined, with the majority of gains being driven by passenger services on the new standard gauge line between Lagos and Ibadan.
