The total revenue collected from passengers travelling through rail transport in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025 was N1.6 billion, a 16.3 per cent drop from the N1.92 billion recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.

This is contained in the Q4 rail transport data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The report shows that the passengers carried through rail transport during the period also shrank by 9.32 per cent from 1,037,113 reported in the corresponding quarter of 2024, to 940,476 passengers.

The report shows that the volume of goods/cargo transported via rail in Q4 stood at 110,480 tons compared to 94,750 tons recorded in Q4.

The revenue collected from goods/cargo conveyed via rail in Q4 2025 was N397.82 million, a 1.58 per cent increase from N391.64 million received in Q4.

According to the report, other receipts amounted to N75.89 million, indicating a decrease of 82.53 per cent in Q4 from N434.44 million received in Q4.

Nigeria’s rail system is facing many challenges, including limited routes, inconsistent services and safety concerns.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) incurred significant losses in recent years.

In 2023, for instance, the NRC recorded a net deficit of N26.4 billion, despite generating N19.17 billion in revenue.

The NRC also lost around N1.04 billion on its eastern rail line between 2014 and 2019 due to non-operation, while it loses about N500 billion yearly to dysfunctional freight rail services.