Barring any changes, next month, the Blue Rail Line will roll out commercial operation while the Red Rail Line is expected to begin test driving same time. Nigerians could hardly wait due to the fare hike, no thanks to another pump price jerk. GLAD TIDINGS NEWS reports.
As the cost of transportation is becoming unpredictable as a result of the soaring cost of pump price of fuel, getting an alternative to motorised transportation, for many Nigerians, would not only be desirable, but the best deal to cope with the vagaries of the market, where the most essential commodity in the mix appeared to have been thrown.
With the increase in fares as a result of the hike in the cost of fuel, which was between N500 and N700 (depending on which state), in the last couple of weeks, Nigerians have resorted to walking to cut costs, while many people have had to review their priorities, cut journeys and/or resort to patronising public transportation.
While the Federal Government continued to tinker with the bouquet of palliatives that could assuage Nigerians who have been thrown off balance by the two reviews which came in quick successions, Nigerians have raised posers whether all the states should not go through the route of providing public transportation to help cushion the pains commuters go through daily moving from one part of their domain to the other.
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For instance, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has bought 50 maxi airconditioned buses to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal, and many trucks to aid the movement of farmers to and from their farm. Similar initiative was also deployed by the Rivers State Government, which also dabbled into public sector.
Gradually, many state governments are beginning to key into expanding public sector controlled transportation in their various states, taking a cue from Lagos State, which had injected the Bus Rapid Transit into the alternatives available to her citizens since 2007. The train option, which has been on the drawing board since 2006, is closed to being actualised by the government.
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Last month, the Lagos Area Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) announced. It said test run would also be kicked off on the Red Line.
Had LAMATA stuck to the original plan, the Blue Line the first phase, which was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in January 24, this year, was supposed to have rolled out commercial activity in April. Meeting with a community of investors last month, LAMATA Managing Director, Mrs Abimbola Akinajo said the government is firming up a lot of processes that must take shape before the light train launch out.
Soon, she said residents living along the Mile 2-Marina corridor would have the train as an additional alternative to the land and water modes that are in place for their use.
The Blue Line, which was the first Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) was the legacy project not only for the state, but by any state governments in Nigeria. When it begins operation, it would be able to take about 250,000 passengers daily between Marina and Mile 2, and about 1.5 million passengers when the second phase between Mile 2 and Okokomaiko the contract of which was signed in January is eventually added.
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The Red Line (which will run on Diesel Multiple Unit), which was being developed simultaneously by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration through the prudent deployment of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention fund, which rallied six commercial banks to provide the project funding is also expected to begin test running as the Tiago trains are delivered, stacked at the Oyingbo Red Line Train Station and ready to be deployed by the government.
However, 38 days left to the delivery of the promise, the government through LAMATA, has kept citizens guessing the process leading to the train’s deployment.
