The Federal Government through the Nigerian Railway Corporation raked in about N5bn revenue from the Lagos-Ibadan train services in 2022, the PUNCH reports.
Reports showed that the coaches in the train which operates on the Lagos-Ibadan rail line have a passenger capacity of about 900/1000 passengers per trip.
According to findings, between January 1 and August 10, 2022, the Lagos-Ibadan train operated six trips daily, generating a total of N18,000,000 daily.
Further analysis revealed that for 221 days, the NRC recorded a total of N3.978bn on the Lagos-Ibadan train services.
In August 2022, the NRC reduced the trips on the route by 67 per cent due to the hike in the price of diesel.
The diesel price had risen by over 300 per cent in a few months, forcing transporters of petrol who power their trucks with diesel to threaten strike before the intervention of the Federal Government.
Also, in August 2022, the NRC reduced the number of trips on the Lagos-Ibadan train route from six trips to two trips per day due to the hike in the price of the automotive gas oil, popularly known as diesel.
On December 8, 2022, the Managing Director of NRC, Fidet Okhiria, announced an increase in the train fare on the Lagos-Ibadan route.
This development came four days after the resumption of the Abuja-Kaduna train services.
After the increment, an average economy ticket sold for N3600, business class N6,500 while the VIP ticket sold for N9,000.
A breakdown of the daily ticket by our correspondent showed that NRC recorded a minimum of N3.6m per trip for a train conveying 1,000 passengers at a ticket price of N3,600 on the Lagos-Ibadan route.
Further breakdown showed that the sum of about N7.2m was recorded for two trips daily on the Lagos-Ibadan train. The NRC raked in the sum of N1.029bn in 143 days.
