THE Lagos State transportation system recently witnessed the completion of infrastructure for the first phase of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line which stretches from Marina to Mile 2. In this report, TOLA ADENUBI examines the changes this will bring to transportation in Lagos State. Excerpt
Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, recently led dignitaries on a train ride from Iganmu to Marina on the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line (LRMT), signaling the completion of infrastructure for the first phase of the 27km project, and setting a new dawn in Lagos transportation system.
The first phase of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line stretches from Marina to Mile 2, covering five stations and a 13-kilometre stretch, out of the total of 27km that is the entire Blue Line, which is expected to run from Marina to Okokomaiko.
While the entire stretch of the 27km Blue Line will have immense impact on transportation along the Lagos-Badagry express corridor, the already completed 13km stretch which runs from Marina to Mile 2 is expected to have immense impact on commuters’ accessibility to the Lagos port and central business areas of Marina and Victoria Island, while also crashing transport fares along the ever busy corridor.
Quicker Access to Lagos Port
For years, moving through the ever-busy Mile 2-Coconut corridor for most port users has been chaotic due to traffic gridlocks that waste away huge man hours. For many people doing businesses at the Lagos ports and its environs, it takes about two to three hours to get to Apapa port when coming from Mile 2 due to an ongoing road construction effort along the Apapa-Oshodi express road.
With the completion of the first phase of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line which covers Mile 2 to Marina, the numbers of alternatives for commuters hoping to reach the Apapa port and its environs in good time now looks better.
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, a customs broker, Chukwuma Orji, explained that it now pays to take a ride from Mile 2 to Iganmu via the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line instead of wasting precious hours held in traffic between Mile 2 to Coconut axis of the Apapa Oshodi express way.
According to Mr. Chukwuma Orji who handles cargo clearance at the Apapa port, Since the Lagos State government banned commercial motorcyclists popularly called Okada riders in the state, going to Apapa from Festac has been tedious for those who work at the ports.
“The ongoing road rehabilitation between Coconut and Mile 2 has not helped our cause as people spend hours held in traffic at times. At a point, I had to abandon the idea of driving to the port from Festac along that route and go through Orile to link Ijora just to get to Apapa port,” he said.
“With this new mode of transportation that the Lagos State Government just completed its infrastructure, its now easier to get to Iganmu from Mile 2, and then take a bus straight to Apapa port with ease.
“The new Lagos Blue Line will transform transportation in the State because same way I can get to Apapa with ease from Mile 2, I can also get back to Mile 2 from Apapa if I join the Blue Line at Iganmu to Mile 2. The issue of traffic gridlocks and congestion on the roads usually caused by container carrying trucks doing businesses at the port is now history.
“I can now predict what time I can get to the port from Festac with a ride on the Lagos Blue Line from Mile 2 to Iganmu. This is a watershed in the history of transportation in Lagos State, and I expect them to quickly complete the Mile 2-Okokomaiko axis of the project because that will eventually bring the project to the doorsteps of some of us who live in Festac.
Alternative to water transportation
For many workers who work in Victoria Island and the Marina and live near the Mile2-Badagry waterways route, the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line offers an alternative for few that still have phobia for waterways transportation.
Speaking with Nigerian Tribune, a resident of Alakija in Ojoo area of Lagos State, Mrs. Bukola Ilori, explained that the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line readily provides a good alternative for her when going to work and returning home in the evening.
According to Mrs. Ilori who works with one of Nigeria’s commercial banks in Marina, Due to my phobia for water transportation, I have had to spend hours stuck in traffic when returning home from work on the Island.
“The evening rush is always hectic because it falls during the rush hour and water transportation is not one of my favourite choices. If not for my phobia for water transportation, I should be home in less than 45 minutes from work if I take a boat ride from the Marina jetty to Alakija area in Ojoo. But due to different reports about boat mishaps that have happened along that Marina to Ojoo waterways route, I cannot stand water transportation and have had to get home very late because I close from work around 5pm. Sometimes, I won’t get home until past 9pm or even 10pm due to traffic gridlocks. The next day, I am up from bed around 4am because I have to be in the office before 8am.
“With the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line, my ordeal in Lagos traffic will now be over. In less than 45 minutes, I should be at Mile 2 from the Marina. If I can get to Mile 2 in less than 45 minutes from Marina, then I am home because Alakija is just two or three bus-stops from Alakija.
“What the Lagos State government has done has brought relief to some of us who live along the Badagry express road. It will reduce the stress that we go through in getting to the Island and returning home.
“If only they can quickly complete the second phase which terminates at Okokomaiko, then I won’t have to worry about Mile 2 to Alakija by bus anymore.”
End to high transportation cost
Aside from bridging the distance between the Marina and Mile 2 axis, the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line will also end the plight commuters go through with increasing cost of transportation on Lagos roads.
According to findings by the Nigerian Tribune, it cost an average of N500 to N600 to get to Marina from Mile 2 before the Yuletide. However, that rate has gone up during the Yuletide, jumping to N700 and even N800 per trip.
Mile 2 to Marina cost N500. However due to the Yuletide, commercial bus drivers now charge around N700 and N800 just to get to Marina from Mile 2, Mr. Tunde Elesho, a commuter who lives in Iyana-Iba told the Nigerian Tribune exclusively.
With the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line expected to be powered by electricity supplied from a standalone Independent Power Plant, the initiative is expected to crash transport fares from Mile 2 to Marina once commercial operations commences.
With electricity, the Blue Line won’t depend on the demand and supply dynamics of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to determine its charges and cost, irrespective of time and season, a source in the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation told the Nigerian Tribune.
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