During the same period, the government allocated $38.59 million (equivalent to N29.98 billion at N777/$) for servicing debts incurred in the construction of the Nigeria Railway Modernisation Project (Idu Kaduna Section) and Nigeria Railway Modernisation Project (Lagos – Ibadan Section).
Within this timeframe, data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicates that the total railway revenue amounted to N2.29 billion. Furthermore, in the first quarter of 2023, a total of 441,725 passengers utilized the rail system, reflecting a significant 53.65 percent increase from the 953,099 reported in the corresponding quarter of 2022.
In terms of revenues, the NBS said, “In terms of revenue generation, N768.44m was received from passengers over the period, lower by 63.02 per cent relative to N2.08bn in the same quarter of the previous year. Similarly, N181.27m was collected in Q1 2023 as revenue from goods/cargos, up by 99.28 per cent from N90.96m received in Q1 2022.
“In addition, other receipts amounted to N34.17m, indicating a decline of 41.02 per cent in Q1 2023, from the N57.92m collected in Q1 2022.”
By Q2, the number of passengers travelling by rail increased to 474,117 passengers and the volume of goods/cargo transported rose to 56,029 tons.
Commenting on revenues, the statistics body stated, “In terms of revenue generation, N1.10bn was received from passengers during the reference period, showing an increase of 83.88 per cent from the N598.74m recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.
“Similarly, N188.03m was collected from goods/cargos conveyed in Q2 2023, up by 105.04 per cent from N91.70m received in Q2 2022. In addition, other receipts amounted to N18.74m, indicating a decline of 62.31 per cent in Q2 2023 from the N49.73m collected in Q2 2022.”
Low revenue from railway services is blamed on insecurity and ticketing issues, with paper tickets still in use in the country. The House of Representatives recently expressed concern over the Nigerian Railway Corporation's poor revenue generation.
This concern, attributed to ticket racketeering, was voiced during the appearance of the Managing Director of the NRC, Fidet Okhiria, before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance in the 2024–2026 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper interactive session.
