The National Bureau of Statistics has said that revenue from services by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) grew by N4 billion in 2021.
In the latest disclosure of its rail transportation data for 2021, NBS said the corporation generated a total of N6.08 billion in the period under review from passengers, cargo and other services.
The figure, compared to that of 2020 (N2.03 billion), represents an increase of 199 per cent in one year.
According to the report, NRC generated N5.70 billion from passengers in 2021 against N1.75 billion in 2020 while it generated N317.57 million from goods and cargo in 2021, against N281.35 million in 2020.
Income from other receipts stood at N66.80 million in 2021, higher than the N5.19 million recorded in the preceding year.
A further breakdown shows that the corporation recorded its highest revenue from passengers in Q4 2021 (N1.91 billion) and the lowest in the second quarter of 2020 (N320.34 million).
The report further revealed that 2.71 million passengers travelled via the rail system in 2021 against 1.02 million passengers recorded in 2020, representing a 166 per cent increase.
A total of 168,301 tons of goods were also transported in 2021 compared to 87,440 recorded in 2020, showing a growth rate of 92.48 percent.
Among all categories in the report, the year 2020 (particularly Q2 2020) suffered the most losses and turnout of passengers due to the COVID-19 lockdown imposed by the federal government to curtail the spread of the virus across Nigeria.
