The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) made around N1.895 billion in income from passenger and freight shipments in the third quarter of 2023.
Compared to N933 million recorded in the same quarter of 2022, this indicates a rise of 103.1%.
The most recent NBS Rail travel figures for July, August, and September of 2023 support this.
The report states that the NRC registered N286.78 million in cargo/goods during the time, and N1.49 billion in passenger revenue.
In addition, N119.22 million in extra revenues were received, which is a 1.05% increase in Q3 2023 over the N117.98 million collected in Q3 2022
When compared on a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenues from rail transport increased by 57.13% from N1.206 billion generated in the second quarter of 2023 to N1.89 billion for the third quarter.
A breakdown of the figures reveals that revenues from passenger transport rose from N1.10 billion to N1.48 billion.
Also, receipts from cargo/goods transport for the second quarter increased from N188 million to N286 million from the second quarter to the third quarter.
Passenger and volume of goods moved by rail
Furthermore, for the period under review, the rail system witnessed a total of 594,348 passengers travelling, marking a notable increase from the 500,348 passengers reported during the same quarter in 2022, representing a growth rate of 18.79%.
When compared to the previous quarter, passengers moved by the rail system increased from 474,117 to 594,348 people.
Additionally, the volume of goods and cargo transported in Q3 2023 amounted to 81,963 tons, a significant rise from the 33,312 tons transported in Q3 2022. When compared to the previous quarter, the volume of cargo increased from 56,029 tons to its current figure.
Nigeria has several active rail lines which it hopes to increase with the rail projects across the country. In 2020, the federal government commissioned the rail line from Ujevwu in Delta State to Itakpe in Kogi State.
Other active rail lines include; Lagos to Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna, and Iddo to Ijoko. The Lagos state government commissioned the first metro rail line in Nigeria last year which ferries passengers from Mile 2 to Marina
