Rail traffic declines by 25.29% in Q2 2022
…Insecurity, suspension of train route major factors for decline – Investigation
By Ibiyemi Mathew
Passenger traffic on the Nigerian rail system has suffered a decline according to the rail transportation statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the report, in the second quarter of 2022, passengers declined by 25.29%, reported at 422,393. In the second quarter of 2021 comparatively, the number of passengers who opted for the rail system stood at 565,385.
Similarly, the decline in the traffic of 953,099 passengers from Q1 2022 indicates a growing cause for concern.
The rail transport system had reasonably seen growth in the first quarter of 2022 relative to 424,460 reported in the corresponding quarter of 2021, representing a growth rate of 124.54%.
Investigations by Nigerian NewsDirect has revealed that growing insecurity concerns, reduction in train trips and technical difficulties with the train have occasioned the decline in the second quarter.
The train which serves as an alternative for travellers who don’t want to go by road because of banditry attacks has also become a scare for Nigerians.
Earlier in March, media outlets had reported a confirmed attack on the Abuja-Kaduna railway service.It was gathered that bandits detonated a bomb on the rail-track of Abuja-Kaduna train and successfully immobilized it at a point between Katari and Rijana. It was gathered that the attackers surrounded the train, shooting sporadically which resulted in the death of many passengers such as the Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria, Barrister Musa-Lawal Ozigi, a former Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Malam Ibrahim Wakkala and it left many injured.
The terrorists also kidnapped 44 Nigerians based on statements issued by the Nigerian Railway Corporation in April and the Secretary to Chief of Defense Staff Action Committee (CDSAC), Prof. Usman Yusuf in October.
Following increased security threats and pressure from families of victims of the March 28 attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train, NRC suspended the Abuja-Kaduna train service indefinitely which is one of the most active rail service in the country in terms of revenue, passengers and coaches.
The Honourable Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, when asked about the resumption date of the Abuja-Kaduna train service said, “If I give a timeline, I’ll be lying to you. It will be insensitive to restart the service if some families weep day and night over their family members still in the bush”.
The minister said the government is looking at the best options in terms of surveillance, including concessioning it in a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.
It is anticipated that with the release of more kidnapped victims, increased security architecture and the approval of a contract for the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) worth about N1.49 billion for the repair of cranes, the Abuja-Kaduna rail service may resume operations soon.
Also, incidents of technical difficulties regarding the movement of the train has also affected the traffic of passengers amongst some passengers in the South West. Recall that earlier in March, a train conveying passengers from Lagos to Ibadan stopped midway due to a lack of sufficient diesel to power the train leaving many passengers stranded for hours until the situation was resolved.
The hike in diesel price forced the Nigeria Railway Corporation to reduce the number of trips on the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service by about 66.67 per cent. In a chat with the media on the impact of the hike in diesel prices, the Managing Director, NRC, Fidet Okhiria said, “We have made some recommendations. But even the recommendations we made, the new price of diesel has overshot our workings as contained in the recommendations.However, we don’t want to price ourselves out of market too, because the price of petrol is not increasing as such, rather the increase is little when compared to diesel price. And you know we are competing with transporters on roads.
“We are now doing two return trips as against six, which by now should have gone to 10. So we run just two trips now due diesel problem.”
