Public transportation will never be the same again as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has once more masterminded another truly inspiring #GreaterLagosRising project which will completely transform how Lagosians commute within the city going forward.
It is one big ticket project after another that has now attracted the buy-in of China thereby birthing the Green metro line project–a part of the transformational Lagos public transportation system which was instituted decades ago and spearheaded by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority.
In faraway China penultimate recently, agreements were signed between all the stakeholders including the Lagos State government, representatives of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).
The Green Line is a 68km rail line designed to run from the Lekki Free Zone to Marina, connecting with the Blue and Red Lines at the iconic Marina train station. It’s worth noting that the Red Line will join the Blue Line at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Arts and Culture (former National Theatre), Iganmu. This new line, according to experts, will transform the transportation landscape, linking key areas like Victoria Island, Oniru, Lekki, Ajah, and adjourning communities.
Like its precursors, this metro line is projected to carry over 500,000 passengers daily when it’s launched. “This number will rise to over a million as demand grows. With the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and CHEC leading the design, financing, and operation, the Green Line will redefine public transport in Lagos.
“The Green Line complements our existing rail lines, including the Red Line, which has already begun partial operations. Together, these lines form the backbone of our Strategic Transport Master plan, designed to create a fast, efficient, and connected Lagos”, the governor noted.
This is coming days after the state celebrated the one-year anniversary of the commercial operation of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line, which has served an impressive two million passengers without any major downtimes. Simply implying that Lagos is ready for more and the Green Line is a welcome and proud addition.
Last month, the Blue Line increased daily trips from 54 to 72, reducing travel time between Marina and Mile 2 from 30 to 18 minutes–a clear evidence of the popularity of the service and its viability too.
I can safely project that these rail services go beyond transportation–they are catalysts for economic growth, connecting communities, reducing travel time, elevating tourism and enhancing the quality of life for millions of residents and visitors.
It is also worthy to highlight that contrary to ongoing anxiety by residents along the Lekki-Epe expressway and environs, the rail line construction won’t complicate their daily lives. Some have expressed the fear that the rail works would be along the expressway thereby compounding traffic nightmare due to the current reconstruction and expansion of the highway from Ajah to Eleko junction. The state government had completed the dualization of the Eleko to Epe T junction many months ago. Luckily, the plan is to avoid the existing expressway and use the Lagos-Calabar super highway which is under construction.
Consequently, the Green Line will pass through Victoria Island from Lagos Island, then to the Eko Atalantic by the coastline all the way down to the Free Zone in Ibeju-Lekki completely avoiding the congested expressway.
It is also understood that this new line is likely to start and be completed during the lifespan of the current Sanwo-Olu administration if all agreements go according to plan.
This will lead to a huge expansion of the economy of the city in property value, new town’s development, tourism, marine economy and easy access to the Free Zone which houses the gigantic Dangote Refinery among other multi billion naira industries.
It is impossible to conclusively enumerate the impact that this project will have in peoples’ lives, the communities and the Lagos economy in the coming years until work begins. In the meantime, let’s continue to savour the comfort and convenience that the Red Line (Agbado to Oyingbo) under test run brings.
