By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria generated N1.07 billion as revenue from rail passengers in the last quarter of 2023, a 7.51 per cent lower than the N1.15 billion generated in the same period of 2022.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Transportation Data for Q4 2023 released in Abuja on Monday, about N423.22 million was collected in Q4 2023 by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) as revenue from goods/cargos, 169.2 per cent higher than the N157.23 million received in Q4 2022.
“Also, other receipts grew by 3.02 per cent from the N382.17 million recorded in Q4 2022 to N393.72 million recorded in Q4 2023,” a part of the report further said.
It was also revealed that the number of rail transport passengers in Q4 2023 stood at 672,198, lower than the 1,337,108 recorded in Q4 2022 by 49.73 per cent, and on an annual basis, the number of rail transport passengers decreased by 32.08 per cent from 3,212,948 recorded in 2022 to 2,182,388 recorded in 2023.
The NBS said the revenue received from passengers declined by 2.64 per cent in 2023 from the N4,546,342,050 recorded in 2022 to N4,426,495,760 in 2023.
“However, the volume of cargo and revenue from cargo in 2023 increased by 102.04 per cent and 144.32 per cent respectively, compared with 2022,” the report said.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Modupe Gbadeyanka