Insecurity and dastardly attacks on the rail transportation have drastically reduced patronage by passengers across the country in the first quarter of 2023 resulting in revenue loss of N1.3 billion.
A report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the Nigerian Railway Corporation’s revenue generated in Q1 of 2023 decreased by N1.3bn.
In a new report titled,”Rail Transportation Data Q1, 2023″ obtained by Persecondnews in Abuja on Wednesday, it highlighted how influx of passengers dropped by -53.65 per cent.
Despite the low patronage by passengers, the report stated that the Federal Government generated N181.27 million in the transportation of goods/cargos, a sharp increase of 99.28 percent compared to the N90.96 million accounted for in Q1 of 2022.
Persecondnews recalls that the rail sector had suffered so many setbacks including the January 2023 attack at Igueben station in Edo State in which passengers on board en route to Warri in Delta State, were kidnapped by suspected herdsmen.
The NRC also suffered revenue decline after the Abuja-Kaduna attack in April of 2022.
Before the attack, NRC generated close to N500 million monthly, but after the attack it shrinked drastically to N50 million monthly.
The report said: “The rail transportation data for Q1 2023 showed that a total of 441,725 passengers travelled via the rail system in Q1 2023, lower than the 953,099 reported in the corresponding quarter of 2022, representing a growth rate of -53.65 percent.
“In addition, 59,966 tons of goods were transported in Q1 2023, compared to 39,379 tons reported in Q1 2022.”
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