A Study of Rail Mass Transit in Lagos and its Environs.

A Study of Rail Mass Transit in Lagos and its Environs.

Statement of the Problem

In spite of the rapid growth of Lagos in recent times, road transport remains the main means of transportation in Lagos while development of rail and water transportation modes is currently neglected. The result has been persistent road congestion, overcrowded buses and long delays for commuters. In response to this situation, considerable efforts have been made to find a solution. Over the years, much consideration has been given to the need for a mass transit system and as early as the 1960s the possibility of a rail-based system for Lagos was mooted (Dar Al-Handasah, 1994). Though an efficient rail mass transit can assist in solving the transport problems in Lagos, the railway system in Lagos/Nigeria is grossly inefficient and is currently beset with endemic deficits, decreasing capacity and declining traffic. The picture at the global level contrasts remarkably with the Nigerian experience. Specifically, records in the last 30 years depict significant technological and operational transformations in the railway systems, which have radically enhanced its service delivery capabilities. Rail transport in Lagos/Nigeria has hardly developed at all over the past 100 years when compared to railways in the developed world. The 3,505 km coverage of rail services in Nigeria is low in a country with a land area of 924,000km2 and a population of over 140 million. The colonial masters who began the construction of railway lines in the country adopted the narrow gauge that does not allow speedy transport of goods and services (Osunbote, 1997). At the time the railway track was built, speed was not considered important. 6 The purpose of the railway was to ensure the haulage of the country‟s agricultural and mineral resources to the port for eventual transportation to Britain and the rest of Europe. However, with the current huge number of commuters in Lagos and Nigeria as a whole begging to be served, it is high time the country developed its rail system as a means of mass and fast movement of people and goods. Efforts aimed at rehabilitating the railway system to enhance its performance in Lagos and Nigeria as a whole included a technical cooperation agreement signed between the NRC and the Rail India Technical and Economic Services between 1979 and 1982. Between 1995 - 1999 and from 2009 till date, fresh technical cooperation agreements were entered between the NRC and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). These agreements centered on improving rail tracks and communications facilities; rehabilitation of existing locomotives, coaches and wagons as well as supply of new ones; and re-opening of hitherto closed routes. Thus, on the 30th of October 2006, the Federal Government and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation signed an $8.3billion contract for the construction of a standard gauge railway line covering 1,315km from Lagos to Kano. Besides, the Lagos State Government in conjunction with NRC launched the Jubilee Rail Service in November 1992 to expand the rail commuter service in the state. While it lasted, the arrangement was epileptic as it was bedeviled with problems such as time-scheduling, staffing, ticketing, revenue sharing, cost-sharing, lack of infrastructure like car parks and high cost of operations. The Lagos Metropolis Mass Transit Train Service run by the Lagos district of NRC was launched in Lagos on the 26th April, 2001. Presently, the Lagos State Government through the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has taken up the challenge of developing an efficient Light Rail Mass Transit for Lagos. But this effort is plagued by two factors. The first is finance while the second is the constraint imposed by the Nigerian Railway Corporation 7 Act of 1955, which gives absolute right of developing the railway in Nigeria to the corporation exclusively. In spite of these past initiatives and the current attempt by the Lagos State Government to provide a mass transit rail service in Lagos, the share of rail mode in the transport sector has not been encouraging and the railway plays an insignificant role in urban mass transit in Lagos at present. Hence, there is the need for information on the constraints militating against the development of an efficient mass transit rail in Lagos and the willingness of the people to make use of an efficient rail mass transit when provided. This study is an analytical response to the question of an un-met need in the area of urban transportation. It examines the potential ridership of mass transit rail in Lagos; the operational constraints of the present mass transit train; and the past, the present and likely future status of rail transport in Lagos and its environs.

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