- Title: NIGERIA: Lagos invests in light rail system to ease traffic congestion
- Date: 20th October 2011
- Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CONSTRUCTION ALONG HIGHWAY PEOPLE WALKING NEAR NEW ROAD PILLARS PILLARS (SOUNDBITE) (English) KENNEDY NWANKWO, LAGOS RESIDENT, SAYING: "It is going to lift off the burden of travelling for so many people, I can speak personally that coming to this area is a big challenge." VARIOUS OF MAN WELDING (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHIAMAKA CHARLES, LAGOS RESIDENT, SAYING: "Apart from the railway, the other five lanes and everything it will make transportation faster, cheaper, it will create job opportunities for people, so I think it's a wonderful idea." LI BING, ENGINEER, CHINA CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION COMPANY (CCCEC) WALKING WITH COLLEAGUE (SOUNDBITE) (English) LI BING, ENGINEER, CHINA CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION COMPANY (CCCEC) SAYING: "The quality and safety of this project is the key issue for us to take care of, so during the construction normally the Chinese foreman and the engineers they will work together with the local foreman here to just check the site inspection and supervise all the working progress every day." VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC VARIOUS OF COMMUTER TRAIN DEYO MOBEREOLA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, LAGOS METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (LAMATA) SHOWING FRIEND CONSTRUCTION SITE ON MAP (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEYO MOBEREOLA, MANAGING DIRECTOR LAGOS METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (LAMATA) SAYING: "It got to a point that it would take you almost 4 hours to do a 5 kilometer journey, and it means that workers start waking up at four o'clock in the morning and leaving their houses at five o'clock to get to work on the island and almost practically getting late to get into the offices, and then they would leave work at about five o'clock and not return home until about twelve in the night so they have lost their social life."
- Embargoed: 4th November 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nigeria, Nigeria
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA3YDL9BNIL0S2QQOJYWVHIR1EM
- Story Text: For millions of commuters in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, the daily journey to and from work is often long and tedious because of the long traffic jams that last for several hours.
To help improve things the Lagos state government has embarked on a multi-billion dollar investment in the construction of a light rail systems to link most parts of the city.
The state plans to build seven light rail lines, the Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple, Brown and Orange and construction of the first line, the Blue line has already begun.
Residents like Kennedy Nwankwo have welcomed the move; he's been watching the giant concrete pillars that will hold the railway line go up and is optimistic that the rail system will make a big difference.
"It is going to lift off the burden of travelling for so many people, I can speak personally that coming to this area is a big challenge," said Nwankwo.
Chiamaka Charles, a student in Lagos is also looking forward to using the new transport system.
"Apart from the railway, the other five lanes and everything it will make transportation faster, cheaper, it will create job opportunities for people, so I think it's a wonderful idea," said Charles.
The construction of the Blue line was awarded to a Chinese firm, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCCEC) Li Bing, is the company's manager in Nigeria.
"The quality and safety of this project is the key issue for us to take care of, so during the construction normally the Chinese foreman and the engineers will work together with the local foreman here to just check the site inspection and supervise all the working progress every day," said Bing.
Lagos state expects more private investment in the remaining six railway lines and is urging local entrepreneurs to participate in the project.
Deyo Mobereola, the Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) said Lagos has an average of 7 million commuters daily and that this figure will rise to 12 million by 2015, which could pose a grand-scale logistical nightmare in the city if infrastructure is not expanded.
"It got to a point that it would take you almost 4 hours to do a 5 kilometer journey, and it means that workers start waking up at four o'clock in the morning and leaving their houses at five o'clock to get to work on the island and almost practically getting late to get into the offices, and then they would leave work at about five o'clock and not return home until about twelve in the night so they have lost their social life," said Mobereola.
The Blue rail system will cost 1.2 billion US dollars and is fully funded by the government of Lagos, while the Red line will cost 1.4 billion dollars.
The Blue line will be functional in 2013 and the Red in 2015. Both are expected to have at least 16 cars that will transport the city's residents.
Transport problems in Lagos blamed on poor planning by successive military regimes in the country have been a nightmare for city residents over the years.
Mobereola added that the light rail system will have the latest train authorization systems, automatic train protection and in-cab signalling in all of its lines.
Other infrastructure to be built as part of the project includes stations, signalling, control and communications systems among others as well as a training facility for train drivers. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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