More Nigerians are beginning to embrace the rail transportation system as revenue rose to ₦1.69bn in the second quarter of 2024, reflecting a 53.14 per cent increase compared to the ₦1.10bn recorded in the same period of 2023.
This data was disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics in its report released on Thursday.
In 2023, the Nigerian Railway Corporation generated ₦1.07bn as revenue from passengers.
According to the report, a total of 689,263 passengers travelled by rail in Q2, representing a growth rate of 45.38 per cent compared to 474,117 passengers in the corresponding quarter of 2023.
The volume of goods transported via rail also saw a significant increase, with 143,759 tons moved in Q2 2024, up from 56,936 tons in Q2 2023.
Additionally, the Nigerian Railway Corporation reported a volume of 5,940 tons of goods transported through pipelines in Q2 2024, an increase from the 2,856 tons recorded in the same period of the previous year.
Revenue from goods conveyed via rail stood at ₦537.36m in Q2 2024, a remarkable increase of 206.68 per cent compared to ₦175.22m in Q2 2023. The movement of goods through pipelines also contributed to revenue generation, with ₦42.08m collected in Q2 2024, compared to ₦12.81m in Q2 2023.
Other revenue receipts amounted to ₦994.68m in Q2 2024, representing a staggering increase of 5,206.68 per cent from the ₦18.74m recorded in the corresponding period of last year.
In the first quarter of 2024, Nigeria spent 2,470 per cent more on railway debt servicing than it made from rail service revenue.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation recorded record revenues of ₦2.12bn in the first half of 2021, an increase of 31 per cent over the same period in 2019, which recorded the previous record revenue.
At the same time, revenue from freight transport was down, with gains coming mainly from passenger transport between Lagos and Ibadan on the new standard gauge.