Cargo trains lifted NRC revenue to N6.05bn in 2023 – NBS

Nigerian railway generated N6.05bn in 2023 – NBS report 

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) generated a total revenue of N6.05 billion in 2023, largely buoyed by cargo trains.

This is an increase of 8.8 per cent over N5.56 billion recorded in 2022, according to latest report by the National Bureau of Statistic (NBS) on Rail Transport.

Despite the initial hiccups, since the Minister of Transportation, Senator Saidu Alkali, inaugurated the first cargo movement from the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor in September last year, the freight train has enjoyed good patronage.

The NBS report showed the volume of cargo and revenue in 2023 rose by 102.04 percent and 144.32 percent respectively compared to the figures in 2022.

It specifically stated that the revenue generated in 2023 comprised N4.42 billion from passengers; N1.07 billion from cargos and N565.84 million from other income receipts.

The data also indicated that the number of cargos\goods transported by rail during the period stood at 317,244 tons while the number of passengers was 2.18 million tons.

However, the report showed that in Q4’23, the number of passengers fell by 49.7 percent to 672,198.

Part of the NBS report read, “In Q4’23, a total of 672,198 passengers travelled via rail system relative to 1,337,108 reported in the corresponding quarter of 2022, indicating a growth rate of -49.73 percent.

“The volume of goods/cargos transported in Q4’23 stood at 119,286 tons compared to 53,136 tons recorded in Q4’22.

“In terms of revenue generation, N1.07 billion was received from passengers during the reference period, showing a decrease of 7.51 percent from the N1.15 billion recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.

“Similarly, N423.22 million was collected from goods/cargos conveyed in Q4’23, up by 169.16 percent from N157.23 million received in Q4’22.

“In addition, other receipts amounted to N393.72 million, indicating an increase of 3.02 percent in Q4’23 from the N382.17 million collected in Q4’22.

“However, on an annual basis, the number of passengers in 2023 fell by 32.08 percent compared to the previous year.

“The revenue received from passengers declined by 2.64 percent in 2023, while volume of cargo and revenue rose by 102.04 percent and 144.32 percent respectively relative to 2022.”