PRESS RELEASE

Fashola restates commitment to
build two rail lines

With the successful launch and operations of the Bus Rapid Transit System, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State has restated government commitment to building two rail lines to improve commuting in the state. The two lines – Agbado to Marina (Blue Line) and Okokomaiko to Marina (Red Line) – are being evaluated by consultants that would advise on the capital outlay for the projects. Speaking at the opening of the maiden Annual National Conference on Public Transportation organised by the Lagos metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) in Lagos, Governor Fashola underscored the potentials of the rail system, particularly the Okokomaiko – Marina line to carry a projected annual passenger capacity of 200 million people. The theme of the conference is “Integrated Transport System in Nigeria’s Emerging Megacities: Issues, Challenges and Options. In the meantime, Governor Fashola, who was represented by his Special Adviser, Special Duties, Mr. Kofo-Abayomi, said the administration had been committed to a series of rehabilitation programmes to make road infrastructure strong enough to withstand the pressure that is daily piled on it until its water and rail transportation programme were completed. “In order to complement our road rehabilitation road rehabilitation and construction programme, we are investing resources in the development of water transportation. We have devoted huge resources to this sector, he stated. In a keynote address, renowned urban planner, Professor Akin Mabogunje identified four challenges confronting mobility with Nigeria’s emerging megacities, of which Lagos has the highest population.

Mr. Afolabi Kofo-Abayomi, Special Adviser, Special Duties, delivering the Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola’s speech to declare the conference open. Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Managing Director, LAMATA, delivering his welcome address at the conference.

He listed inadequate transport, perennial traffic congestion, environmental problems occasioned by increasing incidence of air and noise pollution emanating from traffic situation and the level of safety on roads within megacities.

These challenges, he said underscored the imperative for an integrated transport system for Nigeria’s emerging megacities with emphasis on the use of existing facilities more effectively through systematic articulating, monitoring, evaluating, prioritising and implementing the operational management systems of different modes of transportation.

To facilitate the attainment of the goals of integration and of effective and efficient mobility, Professor Mabogunje said emphasis must be placed on promoting the greater use of mass transit modes of higher capacity buses, rail and water and a lower emphasis on the private cars.

In his speech, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Managing Director of LAMATA recalled that LAMATA was set to manage the transport sector in the Lagos Metropolitan Area and enhance the efficiency of the transport network such that it measurably contribute to poverty reduction.

With about four years of its creation, Dr. Mobereola said LAMATA had been able to impact on traffic situation in Lagos by rehabilitating over 500 kilometres of roads, provided jetties in communities where over 500,000 Lagosians are resident and the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit system from Mile 12 – CMS.

The annual conference, he said is LAMATA’s modest contribution towards tapping from the thoughts of transport planners, operators, regulators, financiers and stakeholders and consequently agreeing the way forward for entrenching effective public transport systems in states across Nigeria.