Amid the increase recorded in the number of passengers in 2022, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) reported lower revenue, according to Dataphyte’s review of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s railway transport data for the third and fourth quarters of 2022.
According to the data, 500,348 passengers used rail transport in the third quarter (Q3), leading to the NRC generating N715.09 million.
In the fourth quarter (Q4), the number of passengers more than doubled, with the revenue generated increasing by more than half. The number of passengers that used the train system in Q4 was 1.37 million, while a total of N1.15 billion was generated.
Altogether, 3.21 million passengers used the trains in the whole of 2022, and a total of N4.55 billion was generated as revenue.
Compared to 2021, the number of passengers in 2022 increased by 18.4 percent. However, the revenue generated for the year fell by 20.20 percent.
In 2021, 2.71 million passengers used the train system, while N5.70 billion was generated as revenue.
In 2022, however, 3.21 million persons used the train system, which is an increase over the 2021 figure. But the revenue generated was N4.55 billion, indicating a 20.20 percent decrease over the period.
A similar occurrence was observed in the 2019 and 2021 figures, although it was the opposite. In 2019, 2.89 million passengers used the train system, but the total revenue reported was N2.41 billion. But in 2021, 2.71 million passengers used the train, whereas a much higher revenue (N5.70 billion) was generated.
In December 2022, when the Abuja-Kaduna train service resumed after a terrorist attack, the train ticket prices were reviewed upwards. This, however, might have had little impact on the NRC’s 2022 revenue, given that it was implemented for only one month in 2022.
A report published by the Tribune on December 4, 2022, showed that the NRC increased train fares in the last month of 2022.
According to the report, ticket price from Lagos to Ibadan for the 24-seater coaches was increased from N6,500 to N9,000. The prices of other seater coaches were also increased.
The fares for other destinations were also increased, according to an internal memo from the NRC which the Tribune published.
NRC spokesman claims ignorance
The NRC spokesman, Mr Mahmood Yakubu, claimed not to have seen the NBS data and would not provide answers to the questions asked by Dataphyte, particularly on the 2022 figure where the number of passengers increased by 18 percent.
Dataphyte contacted the NBS that published the data to seek further clarification.
According to the NBS Statistical Information Officer, Mr Moses Matthew, the rail transport data that was published was obtained from the NRC, and it had no error. As such, the figures reported should be taken as true and authentic.
Experts react
The Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, expressed serious concerns about the revenue reported.
According to him, given the increase in the number of passengers, the revenue should ideally have risen as well, especially as there wasn’t any time that the fare was reduced.
He added that the NRC needed to provide an explanation and be accountable for the revenue generated.
But a security expert, Mr Sam Udenwa, recalled that there was a kidnap case involving the NRC in 2022, which could have led to the increase in its expenditure.
“Such may also have affected their revenue as they might have been involved in kidnap-related expenditures. There was also spending around railway infrastructures. These are things that might have led to the drop in revenue. However, there is a need to demand the NRC’s financial statements to see if this was the true situation. They are a government agency and should be accountable to the people,” he noted.