BY CAROLINE AMOSUN
According to a recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the rail transport sector in Nigeria witnessed a dip in Q3 2022 in comparison to the corresponding quarter of 2021.
The number of passengers carried by rail fell by 28.20 , from 696,841 in Q3 2021 to 500,348 in Q3 2022.
Similarly, revenue from passenger fares also saw a decline of 60.52 percent , falling from N1.81 billion in Q3 2021 to N715.09 million in Q3 2022.
The volume of goods transported in Q3 2022 was also affected, decreasing from 51,726 tons in Q3 2021 to 33,312 tons in Q3 2022.
However, other income receipts saw a significant increase of 707.31 percent , growing from N14.61 million in Q3 2021 to N118.34 million in Q3 2022.
Despite the dip in Q3 2022, the rail transport sector bounced back in Q4 2022, with the number of passengers carried rising by 30.10 percent from 1.03 million persons in Q4 2021 to 1.34 million persons in Q4 2022.
Revenue generated from passengers, however, saw a decline of 39.54 percent, falling from N1.91 billion in Q4 2021 to N1.15 billion in Q4 2022.
On the other hand, revenue generated from goods/cargos in Q4 2022 increased by 63.56 percent compared to the same period in 2021, with N157.23 million reported in Q4 2022 compared to N96.13 million in Q4 2021.
Other income receipts also saw a substantial increase of 3,316.18 percent , growing from N11.19 million in Q4 2021 to N382.17 million in Q4 2022.
Nonetheless, the annual basis shows an increase of 18.36 percent in the number of passengers carried by rail in Nigeria, indicating a positive outlook for the sector as at the end of 2022.