The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) reported over N6 billion in revenue from train operations in 2023, despite a 32.08% decrease in passenger traffic compared to the previous year. According to a Rail Transportation Data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the NRC transported 2,182,388 passengers in 2023, down from 3,212,948 in 2022.
The decline in passenger traffic led to a 2.64% decrease in revenue for both passenger and cargo traffic. However, there was a significant improvement in cargo movement, with the NRC transporting 317,244 tons of cargo in 2023 compared to 157,024 metric tons in 2022.
The NBS report indicated that revenue generated by the NRC in each quarter of 2023 varied. In Q1 2023, the NRC received N768,438,658, down from N2,077,836,686 in Q1 2022. Q2 2023 saw an increase to N1,100,941,295 from N598,736,300 in Q2 2022. Q3 2023 generated N1,489,200,328, surpassing the N715,091,714 of Q3 2022. In Q4 2023, the NRC generated N1,067,915,479, slightly less than the N1,154,677,356 of Q4 2022.
The decline in revenue was attributed to factors such as reduced trips, track repairs, reduced speed, and fear of attack by bandits. Despite these challenges, the NRC remains committed to providing safe and reliable transportation services.
