the ever growing Lagos & Transportation- METRO

          I will be periodically bringing you up to speed about recent developments in Nigeria. but for the time being lets take Lagos for a look. I think i have lots of interest in metropolis transportation especially rail way as it is such that is very difficult to implement and manage.
         Lagos is the most populous city in Nigeria if no Africa with the best guess for her population standing at 7,937,932 (2006 census) which is still not even close to the actual over 17 million habitats in the city. Development has encroached the local government areas of this city, awareness in Lagos far supersedes that of the other Nigerian states. Such a condensed state surely will have lots of problems attached to it, congested traffic, limited transportation amenities and this has lead for a need for BRT buses, but the ever growing population of Lagos needs even a flying bus to meet up to this mobile city therefor a LAGOS LIGHT RAIL

        This Lagos Light rail managed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority will first have the red and blue line as shown below  the Green lines and others will be added after an effective Red and Blue to say.
      

 Work is on day and night to ensure completion of this as the Lagos state government will tap from the NRC's rail lines in addition to it's in-city rail transportation.

As of now the people will have faith in the governments' completion of this project but there are questions that remain un-answered to this ground breaking development to Lagos as a state for above other Nigerian' states and Nigeria as a country.

1. Continuity: the Nigerian leaders have proven time without number that they lack the interest to continue already started project by previous leaders  in so doing leaving so many rooms for corruption, abandoned projects, which have affected the long term implementation of railway service in the country. After Fashola, will the next government continue?
2. Maintenance: We lack in great magnitude the culture to maintain good things we have this is not only attached to the government but in so many ways the People,will a common man refuse the temptation of urinating close by the train station? will be try to hold the pure-water sachet he used till he finds a waste bag? will he take the train like his/her own? Will the government replace broken glassed? repair bad chairs? immediately amend bad railway tracks?
3. Safety: It is not a secret that up until now businesses are still carried out on working railway tracks, or the probability of flood eroding a railway track, getting the people aware of the dangers of staying too close to the railway tracks,what kind of training will be given to the traffic men of the railway. 

 

Having said all the above it is surely a good thing  as this seems like a challenge, as even in the city of Port-harcourt the government is also embarking on overhead railway tracks in the metropolis not to mention others.

  

Skyview of Iganmu Station-Proposed & under construction

National Theatre Station- Proposed  & under construction

Laying of slabs for rail lines

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Already completed pillars waiting the slabs

 One thing for sure is that if the BRT buses has worked well, then the Lagos Light rail will also and this will also provide benefits like

• Employment: As the Railway industry is on the rise again the need for certain skilled and unskilled profession will arise again and in so doing a large portion of our unemployed youths will be kept busy as a railway system is so large and involves so many logistics to be effective.
• Controlled Education: This might not be the right naming for this but i hope you get my idea: In Germany we know they have lots of schools for engineers, in so doing they have been able to provide home grown engineers to keep up and maintain their economy. Now i will advice many youths or young people to study related field of studies that will enable you work in a railway company or serve as a compliment like: Accountant, ICT, Steward, Hostess, Warden, Captain, Maintenance field of studies, Project manager, Promoting strategist, Receptionist, Technologies and certifications to enable you control railway devices, Businesses in railway stations.
• Competition: A successful Lagos Light Rail will provoke other state government to start implementing similar structures though it might not be exact but the possibilities are there.
• Road Safety: As much as it is a disadvantage, the positive part outshines the negative, as more and more people ply the light rail, even more people will be forced to use the BRT buses forcing the ordinary bus drivers out of business there by having a controlled transportation (the government can buy more buses and employ some out of business bus drivers) then we will have a decongested lagos roads, and the less cars that drives and a road the longer the road lies in good state.

Train stations that will 2 floors situated in center of espress-ways and some close to the BRT bus stations

Train Stations under construction