Nigerian railway corporation generated a sum of N2.12 billion as revenue in the first half of 2021, representing a 123% increase compared to N946.86 million generated in the previous period (H2 2020).
This is contained in the Nigerian railway transport report, which was released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the report, the revenue generated in the review period is 94.9% higher than N1.09 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2020. Also, the H1 2021 figures represent the highest on record according to data obtained from the NBS.
The number of passengers who used rail transport between January and June 2021 was 989,845 representing about 273.4% increase when compared to 265,075 recorded in H2 2020.
Meanwhile, the volume of goods measured in tons reduced 11.6% from 60,264 recorded in H2 2020 to 42,782 in H1 2021.
A breakdown of the report shows that 424,460 passengers were conveyed through train in the first quarter of 2021, while 565,385 were transported in Q2 2021.
In the first quarter of 2021, 10,511 tons of goods/cargos were moved while 42,782 tons were transported in Q2 2021.
A cursory look at the data based on what was released by the NBS shows the revenue generated in H1 2021 represents the highest recorded since 2019. The record started from Q1 2019 to date.
Recall that Nigerian railway corporation revenue in Q1 2021 surged by 33% to N926.72 million compared to N698.4 million recorded in Q1 2020. The increase was largely attributed to the increase in the fare per trip, considering the year-on-year decline in the number of passengers conveyed through train in Q1 2021.
Also, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) revealed that the corporation recorded 33,140 passenger traffic from the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway in the month of July.
The latest figures show that the rail transport system is growing in demand in Nigeria, with the number of train passengers surging in recent times and revenue skyrocketing, especially with the newly inaugurated Lagos-Ibadan railway project.
This increased adoption of train transport could help solve the road transport problems of accidents and intense traffic ravaging most highways in the southwestern parts of the country.
