Rail transportation in Nigeria is witnessing growing acceptance, with revenue rising to ₦1.69 billion in the second quarter of 2024, a 53.14% increase from ₦1.10 billion in Q2 2023, according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Passenger numbers surged to 689,263 in Q2 2024, a 45.38% rise compared to 474,117 in the same period last year.
Freight transport also saw significant growth, with 143,759 tons of goods moved via rail, up from 56,936 tons in Q2 2023. Revenue from goods transported via rail reached ₦537.36 million, marking a 206.68% increase from the previous year.
Other revenue receipts amounted to ₦994.68m in Q2 2024, representing a staggering increase of 5,206.68 percent from the ₦18.74m recorded in the corresponding period of last year.
In the first quarter of 2024, Nigeria spent 2,470 percent 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 percent 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.