With the planned completion of 7.75 km, Lot I, of the Lagos Light Rail project in June 2013, hope has risen that a mass transit rail system to convey thousands of Lagosians to and from short distances will soon be a reality. The Blue Line rail project kicked off in 2010 and is being constructed by Chinese construction giant, China Civil Engineering and Construction Company, CCECC.
Governor Fashola inspecting one of the new coaches at Iganmu.
In 2005, when the project idea was first mooted, the project was estimated to cost $240 million. The project is aimed at addressing the transport problems in the city, whose population is currently put at over 18 million and projected to notch 25 million in 2015. It is also expected to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in the state.
Experts are of the view that integrated light rail systems are the backbone of a successful city and they remain the most efficient way of transporting people. According to an article provided by Alithea Capital, a Lagos-based investment manager and advisor, Light Rail Transportations, LRTs typically connect different commercial hubs to
less busy areas, which enables ease of movement, increases accessibility and fosters demand for commercial, office, retail and residential properties along transit routes. The writer adds that the impact on property values tends to be highly contained around train station areas, particularly for commercial uses. It suggested that great attention must be given to the location of stations and the policies that guide developments around them.
Alithea Capital says that the Lagos LRT blue and red lines will open up the city, connecting far-flung industrial estates to middle income residential neighbourhoods. “As the Lagos State government extends the LRT into other parts of the city, increased access and larger market penetration may further enhance property values close to the rail alignments, especially when rail stations are placed at walking distances to current and planned employment, cultural and retail centres,” the advisor maintains. “With the implementation of the LRT, Lagos is expected to move a step closer to realising its objective as a mega city. The impact of a modern and efficient transit system has far-reaching consequence and the real estate sector stands to benefit,” it adds.
To address problems of movement in a population-explosive Lagos, the state government mandated the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, LAMATA, to develop an urban light rail system. The plan details the construction and operation of two lines with a capacity to carry 40,000 passengers per hour. There will be a 27.522km blue line and a 30km red line that will operate from the central business disrict to another suburb in the northwestern part of the city, with a link from an industrial area to the city’s international and domestic airport terminals.
The total length of the blue line rail is 27.522km, running from Okokomaiko to Marina, and will be served by 12 stations. The 4.5km-long line from the exit of Iddo station to Iganmu is an inter-city elevated track spanning three major and six minor roads, as well as the inland and waterways.
The 18-25 km-long line from Iganmu to Okokomaiko is at-grade (on the same level with another railroad or crossing) positioned in the centre of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, which is currently under development. The 1km-long line west of Okokomaiko is an access track into a depot facility that crosses the Lagos-Badagry Expressway. From Iddo station to Okokomaiko, there are 10 at-grade stations. The 3.657km-long line from Iddo station to Marina is an elevated track served by two elevated stations. Also included in the line are a 3.047km-long coastal track and a 610km-long sea-crossing bridge.
The entire 27.522km blue line was initially expected to be completed by 2015 but the project has been dragging due to inadequate funding as the government finances the project from borrowed funds and budgetary allocation. Due to the financial constraint, the project construction was divided into three, with the first 7.75km falling under Lot I, which is from Iganmu to Orile, while works on the other two Lots will begin soon.
Head of Communication, LAMATA, Kola Ojelabi said that when the project is completed, it would be handed over to a concessionaire to manage for a certain period. He added that the type of train that would run on the rail is not yet determined.
Last week, Governor Babatunde Fashola undertook an assessment tour of the light rail project and assured that the first phase of the project would be completed in June. The governor inspected the tracks already laid for the rail and an already-positioned engine, as well as flagged off the track-laying. He said while the first phase of the project would be ready in June, work on the rail would continue to Okokomaiko, even as expansion of the Lagos Badagry Expressway continues. “You know we have the two projects linked together – the road expansion and the light rail simultaneously. Now, we are trying to see how we can take the rail from the National Theatre to Marina. Hopefully, when that is done, we can heave a sigh of relief. Though there is still work to be done, but so far so good. This is what we do with the money which we borrow; we do not borrow money to pay salaries, we don’t borrow money to run our overhead. We are investing it in infrastructure. This is the type of transportation that I dream for this country; this is the type of transportation that I dream for this state and not transportation by motorcycles,” Fashola said.
According to him, China recently commissioned what is, perhaps, the fastest high speed train in the world that covers over 300 kilometres per hour. “Why can’t that happen here? It is really no rocket science. If we can’t invent it, we can buy it and that is what we are doing. We are buying the facility to install here,” he remarked.
Fashola stressed the need to keep the surroundings of the project clear of refuse. “There is need for them (the people) to take ownership of the project as theirs. No traveller on the train would like to be seeing refuse on the right and left sides of the light rail when it finally becomes functional. People should be able to live close to the train station and walk about a kilometre to their homes. So it is a dream, it is beginning to come together. This is what we saw and we will deliver it,” the governor promised.
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