The 37 kilometers red line rail project by the Lagos State Government will serve at least 1 million passengers daily upon completion, Abimbola Akinajo has said.
Abimbola Akinajo who leads as the Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), during a panel session at the Africa Mobility Conference in Eko Hotel, said the government was very much concerned about the future of transportation.
She revealed that the government plans to complete both the blue and red metro lines this year, to meet the demand of road passengers.
She also added that the yearns for a transport sector driven by technology, where individuals and groups of people can easily engage, track and plan their movements via public and private mobility means by simply engaging their phones.
According to MD LAMATA, future mobility must speak to the ease of mobility by leveraging technology to drive physical infrastructure.
She said all transportation modes such as land, water, and rail must be fully integrated and driven by technology.
My vision for me is to have a fully integrated transport system by ensuring that road, rail, and water are connected through technology without hassle within a short timeframe.
“Think of the ease of mobility, so we can’t take away technology from it. We will continue to drive physical infrastructure, which must be aided and completely driven by technology.”
In another conference, she said, “A study conducted on the red line says it should serve a million passengers, while the blue line should serve 750,000 passengers a day.”
The LAMATA boss also noted that the rail lines would not only be sustainable but would also reduce carbon emissions greatly when they begin operations.
She noted that the blue rail line would be electric, while the engine of the red line, though would run on diesel, can be converted to electric to tie into the plan of reducing combustion in the mega city.
Akinajo explained that building the rail lines had not been so smooth as the workers encountered many challenges in the process.
“Lagos Is a small land area and it is highly populated. The first challenge is securing the right of way. However, securing your corridor is a big challenge.”
She mentioned that the cost of the rail line and every other thing involved in it was also another challenge the authority faced. An example, she added, was that workers had to be very cautious while building the tracks in order not to destroy public utilities like underground pipes.
“We are sharing the track with the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) on the red line from Agbado to Ebute Meta. And then we would be building our own independent track from Ebute Meta to Oyingbo. The final one is when we move from Oyingbo to Marina.”
The LAMATA boss advocated for rail as the best form of mass transit transportation. She said the government was committed to completing all rail projects, as well as the monorail it promised. This development, she said, would bring about more jobs.
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