In 2023, the Nigerian rail system recorded a 32% drop in passenger numbers. What are the economic factors and indicators behind Nigerians' sudden disenchantment with the train?
Rail transport has been losing ground in Nigeria in recent years. This is confirmed by the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). According to the Abuja-based institution, rail traffic has fallen from 3.2 million passengers in 2022 to 2.1 million in 2023, a shortfall of more than a million passengers in just one year.
In financial terms, this corresponds to 4.4 billion naira ($3.3 million) in 2023, compared with 4.5 billion naira ($3.4 million) in 2022. There are several reasons for the decline in trafficking. Among them is the security challenge. On 28 March 2022, hundreds of passengers on the Abuja-Kaduna route were kidnapped by bandits. The incident caused quite a stir because some senior authorities were among the detainees. Since the attack, it has been difficult for some Nigerians to return to the stations.
The other reason is the maintenance of the rail network. Some journeys have been extended by 2 or 3 hours on certain lines because of the track rehabilitation and modernisation work (Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, for example) currently being carried out by the Nigerian Railways Corporation (NRC). As a result, many people prefer to reach their destinations by taxi or coach.
Revitalising the rail economy
Faced with a fall in the number of passengers on the railways, whose ticket sales represent a major windfall for the rail economy, the Nigerian authorities are betting on freight. An increase of 37% has already been recorded in the transport of goods. At least “59,966 tonnes of parcels will be shipped by the end of 2023 (worth more than 320,000 dollars), compared with 39,379 tonnes (118,000 dollars) in 2022”, according to the NBS.
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If the people of Nigeria take to the rails en masse, this should also help to reduce the number of personal vehicles, which contribute to the deterioration in air quality in conurbations such as Lagos. Nigeria’s economic capital, with a population of 22 million, is one of the Top 10 most polluted cities in Africa.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
