The Nigerian Railway Corporation earned N286.78m from cargo transported by rail in the third quarter of 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
NBS in its latest rail transportation report stated that this represented an increase of 181.58 per cent from N101.84m generated in Q3 2022.
The report stated, “In Q3 2023, N286.78m was collected from goods/cargo conveyed in Q3 2023, up by 181.58 per cent from N101.84m received in Q3 2022.”
The volume of goods/cargos transported in Q3 2023 stood at 81,963 tonnes, compared to 33,312 tonnes recorded in the corresponding period of the prior year.
The statistics agency noted that a total of 594,348 passengers travelled via rail system in the period relative to 500,348 reported in the corresponding quarter of 2022, indicating a growth rate of 18.79 per cent.
In terms of revenue generation, N1.49bn was received from passengers during the reference period, showing an increase of 108.25 per cent from the N715.09m recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.
In addition, other receipts amounted to N119.22m, indicating an increase of 1.05 per cent in Q3 2023 from the N117.98m collected in Q3 2022, NBS said.
In early January, the NRC said it had concluded plans to launch night operations before the second quarter of 2024.
Earlier, we reported that NRC generated N4.2bn in total in the outgone year.