Nobody likes the Lagos popular traffic gridlocks. It is simply frustrating. It is stressful. It is time wasting. The effects on the health and the economy of perennial traffic jams all across Lagos roads, cannot be quantified. Many times, cars bump into each other due to impatience in navigating through the traffic, and it usually results to shouting matches between both drivers, and lastly fighting brawls.
But hope is on the horizon, as these may soon become a thing of the past or at least be reduced drastically to the barest, going by the state government’s quest to complete the rail transportation system, which Governor Sanwo-Olu has promised will be achieved by December 2022.
To ensure the smooth take off of the rail transportation by the scheduled date, the Lagos State Governor, recently visited the United States, to conclude the purchase of three new trains from Talgo Inc., a train manufacturing company based in Milwaukee, for the Blue line train project. The governor had explained last week that the state had earlier quietly purchased three trains for The Red line, thereby, bringing the number of trains purchased for the red and blue lines to six.
The rail project known as Lagos Rail Mass Transit System project, is sponsored by the Lagos State Government (LSG) through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, and is being developed by Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), on behalf of Lagos State Government.
Going by a report made by Railway Technology, a leading site for news and procurement in the railway industry, in March 13, 2020, LAMATA has proposed seven lines in the network: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple, Brown and Orange, while China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), was awarded the contact for the construction of the first line (Blue); the company will be in charge of design and development of The Blue line rail infrastructures.
The Blue line, which would be constructed in two phases will run through National Theatre to Mile 2 section, while the second phase will run through Mile 2to Okokomaiko section, and is estimated to cost $1.4bn. The Red line on the other hand will be 30km long, and will run between Marina and Agbado. The Blue line will be 27km long, connecting Okokomaiko to Marina.
The Blue line, just as the Red line, will start at Marina station and run along Ebute Ero and Iddo stations. From Iddo, the Blue line will run on an elevated platform along the National Theatre station, before making a descent at Iganmu and then join the newly expanded Lagos-Badagry Expressway, crossing through Alaba, Mile 2, Festac, Alakija, Trade Fair, Volkswagen and LASU, to finally end at Okokomaiko. Each of these areas will have major rail stations.
Construction works on the rail project, was initially estimated to be completed by 2011, but was marred by delays due to funding. Governor Sanwo-Olu however gave assurances that the rail transportation will finally kick off, by end of 2022.
Fielding questions from media reporters at an occasion earlier in the year, Governor Sanwo-Olu assured Lagos residents that the cost of riding on the Lagos train will be very affordable. In many parts of the world where rail system is functioning properly, train transportation has always been one of the fastest and cheapest means of land transportation. According to the Governor, Lagos train transport will not be an exception. He explained that the price for a single ride will cost anywhere between N200 and N250. This sounds like sweet music to to the ears for many in a big city like Lagos, where road transportation is becoming progressively more expensive for the average resident.
Lagos, with an estimated population of 27million residents, is unarguably one of the most densely populated cities in Africa, a megacity. It is also estimated that by the year 2025, Lagos will be one of the five most populated cities in the world. With this estimate, this plan to establish a functional intra-city light train transportation, will go a long way in easing traffic congestions on Lagos roads and thereby speeding up business activities within the state.
Upon completion, the Lagos rail project, will be West Africa’s first operational metro system, while the Talgo trains will lift one to three million passengers per day.
