By Uche Nnadozie
A few days ago, the Red Line rail project rolled off to great cheer. This is following delays caused by operational reasons relating to the rail tracks signalisation.
Sharing the same tracks with the Nigeria Railway Corporation’s inter state service will mean that managers of the red line would have to align its operations with that if the federal government ran tracks.
With that sorted, dry runs have commenced. By the end of the third quarter or beginning of last quarter of the year, passenger experience will be introduced when different groups will participate in the trial runs before full commercial operations will commence.
So far, 20 trips have been scheduled for the red line per day. This is massive considering how many commuters would be lifted per trip.
According to the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) the agency that is directly responsible for the rail system in the state, the trial runs for the Red Line Rail project commenced penultimate Tuesday.
“The test running which is in the morning and afternoon is expected to take 4-6 weeks to be done.
“However, passenger operations are expected to start by the last quarter of the year, with 20 trips per day”, LAMATA said.
The rolling stocks (trains or railway vehicles) are in place already while more are expected from China after governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s productive business trip to that country earlier in the year.
The pleasure of having these train corridors is not so much about the job creation (which is important), but the multiplier effect on the environment, lives and livelihoods of the residents of Lagos and other visitors. Experts say, the rail system does not by itself make profit, rather, the improvement in transportation and making lives easier helps residents and users to improve their businesses and lives.
It is not the indirect jobs that will naturally follow, but the faster, more affordable, less emission, great reduction in road accidents, rages, elimination of agbero (motor park touts)and standardisation of ticketing/fares through the Cowry card.
For a state that grapples with traffic snarls, the immediate reduction in the traffic between Mile 2 and Lagos Island because of the Blue line railway is expected to be replicated on the Agbado Oyingbo corridor.
With a higher population density, the red line corridor residents would heave a sigh of relief as LAMATA puts finishing touches on the roll off of the project.
So far all the train terminals or stations are ready with state of the art furniture installed along the route.
The governor had commissioned built-to-specification overpasses at various traffic gridlock points along the route. These include: Oyingbo, Tejuosho/Yaba, Mushin, Ikeja, among others.
With the overpasses, there is zero vehicular interference on the route, making movement faster with little human and vehicular interruption.
Also, the 37km long railway would be extended from Oyingbo to join the red line somewhere around the Wole Soyinka Centre of Arts and Culture (formerly National Theatre) at Iganmu where the journey will cross the lagoon into Lagos Island.
With these, communities in Alimosho, the largest LGA in Nigeria together with Ifako-Ijaiye, Ojokoro, Agege, Iju, Ikeja would live longer and healthier after they abandon their cars or buses to embrace less stressful means of metro transportation.
Seeing how those in the Ojo, Amuwo Odofin, Surulere among others have benefitted from the blue line with comfortable, air-conditioned coaches, those along the red line corridor can no longer wait to taste the Sanwo-Olu standard service delivery by September or shortly after. Indeed, Lagos is rising!
