Nigeria generated over N1.10 billion from passengers travelling by rail transport system in the second quarter of 2023.
This figure represents 83.88 percent increase in revenue compared to N598.74 million that was generated in the same quarter of the previous year.
This is contained in the Rail Transportation Data for Q2 2023 released yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report said, N188.03 million was collected from goods/cargos conveyed in Q2 2023, up by 105.04 percent from N91.70 million received in Q2 2022. In addition, other receipts amounted to N18.74 million, indicating a decline of 62.31 percent in Q2 2023 from the N49.73 million collected in Q2 2022.
According to the report, in Q2 2023, a total of 474,117 passengers travelled via rail system, relative to 422,393 reported in the corresponding quarter of 2022, indicating a growth rate of 12.25 percent.
It said the volume of goods/cargos transported in Q2 2023 stood at 56,029 tons, compared to 31,197 tons recorded in Q2 2022.
Last year, government lost a whopping N6. 6 billion to the 251 days shutdown of Abuja-Kaduna rail service following the March 28 terrorist attack on the train in Rigasa, Kaduna State.