The Centre for the Study of Economies of Africa (CSEA), a leading research think-tank on economic development trends in Africa, has advised the Federal Government to encourage public-private investments in the nation’s rail transportation system through appropriate policies to grow the economy.
The research firm, in its latest Nigeria Economic Update Issue No 37 sourced by our correspondent on Tuesday, listed some of the benefits of rail transportation system over other means as including convenience, affordability, and safety
Using the latest data on rail transportation by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the second quarter of this year to justify the Centre’s call for improved investments in the sub-sector, the CSEA researchers noted that a total of 565,385 passengers travelled via the rail system in Q2 2021, representing 422 percent year-on-year increase over the 108,238 passengers that travelled by rail in Q1, 2020.
The Q2 2021 figure also represented 33 percent quarter-on-quarter growth over the 424,460 passengers that travelled by rail in Q1 this year.
According to the research firm, a total volume of 42,782 tons of goods/cargo also were conveyed through the rail transportation system in Q2 2021, which is a 392 percent growth over the 8,691 tons recorded in Q2 2020, and 307 percent increase over the 10,511 tons recorded in Q1 2021.
The CSEA researchers also noted that in revenue terms that the revenue generated from passengers in the period (Q2 2021) under review stood at N1 billion as against N893 million in Q1 2021 while the goods/cargo revenue also rose to N72 million in the quarter under review, up from the N26 million in Q1 2021.
Based on the impressive performance of the rail transportation sub sector and its potential for value-addition in terms of revenue and easier facilitation of passengers and cargo movements in the country, the research firm stated that “the data indicates the growing demand for rail transportation in Nigeria post COVID-19 and the government’s efforts to revive the railway industry.
“The convenience, affordability, and safety of railway transportation imply that expanding coverage through public and private investment and partnership will promote economic activities and growth”, the CSEA added.
