According to recent Data from the National Bureau of Statistics, it revealed that Nigeria’s rail transportation grew by 81.2% quarter-to-quarter in the Fourth Quarter (Q4) of 2022.
The increase in quarter-to-quarter growth in total revenue was driven by an increase in passenger traffic, which more than doubled to 1.34 million in Q4 of 2022, from 500,000 in Q3 of 2022. Data reveals that passenger revenue increased by 61.4% quarter-on-quarter to N1.15 billion in quarter four of 2022, accounting for 68% of gross revenues during the quarter.
Meanwhile, on a year-to-year basis, the total revenue declined by 16% which is attributed to the long suspension of rail operations along the Abuja-Kaduna route.
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Recall that the Nigerian Railway Corporation in March 2022 suspended train operations along the Abuja-Kaduna route, after a terrorist attack on an Abuja-Kaduna bound train. Announcing the suspension of operation along the Abuja-Kaduna route via its official Twitter handle, the NRC explained that the suspension was due to security concerns and unforeseen circumstances.
However, the federal government had given assurances that it was putting in place necessary security measures to forestall a repeat of terrorist attacks on the railway. The minister of transportation Mu’azu Sambo during a tour of the railway corridor said, the government is putting in every security measure to ensure the safety of passengers.
In his words, “Part of the measures put in place is the ticketing. As you know, security starts with ticketing. Now, you cannot buy a ticket unless you have a valid phone number and a National Identification card. And if you are a foreigner, there must be means of identification that can be used and produced by the NIMC office.
“After buying the ticket, you will be given a barcode that would help you gain access to the lounge, when the machine reads the barcode on your receipt and your complete profile, only then would you be allowed into the lounge. This kind of security measure is according in line with global best practices as profiling the passenger is necessary to know who is coming on board.
“Another visible change people would notice is the increase in the number of security personnel; some of them will not even be wearing uniforms to guarantee the safety of the traveling public. There is other sensitive equipment that we have deployed that I will not be mentioning. Also, on every journey, the train will be monitored on a screen and the train driver can see up to a particular distance if there is any threat on the tracks, which will enable him to pull the break long before getting to the perceived threat.”
The resumption of operations on the Abuja-Kaduna railway line in December 2022 is reported to have partly contributed to a quarter-on-quarter rise in total revenue. With the security measures put in place by the government, there is an anticipation of improved revenue in 2023.
