For maximum effect, yesterday’s launch of the Lagos red line route needs to be backed up with a national railway programme

Ayo Akinfe

[1] We should set ourselves the target of linking all our 774 local government areas by rail by 2030

[2] Abuja and Lagos should be linked by a high speed network allowing travel within two hours

[3] We should have a coastal high speed rail link that connects Calabar to Lagos within two hours

[4] We should launch an Ecowas service linking Accra, Abidjan, Dakar, Freetown, Niamey, Bamako, Ouagadougou, Banjul, etc

[5] All components, carriages, engines, signalling equipment, etc used in the industry must be manufactured locally

[6] By 2030, the entire Nigerian railway network must be electric-powered

[7] Nigeria’s railway network must have its own electricity generating and distribution capability, so it has nothing to do with the national grid

[8] Every state capital in Nigeria must have an urban metro as part of our commitment to cut carbon emissions and green house gases

[9] Lagos and Abuja must have underground services similar to those of all other capital cities in the world

[10] Every port, airport, refinery, heavy manufacturing facility and major industrial estate in Nigeria must have a railway link by 2030