Cargo boom drives NRC revenue to N1.4b in three months

The Nigeria Railway Corporation has disclosed that it made an 84:91 per cent increase in its revenue in 2024 compared to its 2023 first-quarter performance.

This was according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Unlike the first three months in 2023 when the corporation made a total of N768.44m, in 2024 the corporation recorded N1.42b in the same time under reference.

The corporation also recorded a significant increase in the amount of revenue made from carrying cargo.

Also in the same period, NRC collected N607.32m from goods and cargo conveyed via rail, against N181.27m received during the same period in 2023.

“In terms of revenue generation, N1.42 billion was received from passengers during the reference period, showing an increase of 84.91% from the N768.44 million recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.

“Similarly, N607.32 million was collected from goods/ cargo conveyed via rail in Q1 2024, up by 235.03% from N181.27 million received in Q1 2023. In addition, revenue generated from the movement of goods/cargo via pipeline stood at N59.14 million in Q1 2024. Other receipts amounted to N25.40 million, indicating a decline of 25.65% in Q1 2024 from the N34.17 million received in Q1 2023.”

The report further showed that more persons travelled via rail this year, putting the passengers’ number at 675,293 “relative to 441,725 reported in the corresponding quarter of 2023, indicating a growth rate of 52.88 per cent.

“The volume of goods/cargo transported via rail in Q1 2024 stood at 160,650 tons compared to 59,966 tons recorded in Q1 2023. In the quarter under review, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) reported an additional volume of goods/cargo transported via pipeline which stood at 8,000 tons.”