Lagos State Gov. Babjide Sanwo-Olu and contingent from Nigeria inspect trains. | Twitter
Lagos State Gov. Babjide Sanwo-Olu and contingent from Nigeria inspect trains. | Twitter
The largest city in West Africa will soon feature trains from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Lagos State Gov. Babjide Sanwo-Olu announced the acquisition of two sets of 10 cars of Talgo red trains for the Lagos Red Line rail project. The trains, according to the release, can reach speeds of about 205 mph and will be part of the Red Line rail project proposed by Sanwo-Olu. The 23-mile track will have 11 stations and become the first operational metro system in West Africa, according to a release.
“I’m proud of the manufacturing skill of Milwaukeeans that will be on display in Africa,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson posted on his Twitter account.
The deal was completed at a public event inside the offices of Talgo Incorporated, the Spanish train manufacturer located in Milwaukee.
Sanwo-Olu was joined by the Lagos State commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, Special Adviser to the Governor on Works Aramide Adeyoye and Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority Abimbola Akinajo. The African officials wanted to inspect the trains first-hand to make sure they met the specifications they were seeking.
“A train is not something you can just go on the shelf and pick up,” Sanwo-Olu said in the release. “We are very lucky to get brand new trains. We have seen our beautiful white and red trains. Coincidentally, the rail line is called Red Line, and you can see they have given us the color. We are just going to brand it and put up our seal there. We hope that this (purchase of the trains) will be the beginning of a mutually beneficial business relationship.”
The first phase of the Red Line project will begin by the last quarter of 2022 or first quarter of 2023, with a capacity of 500,000 passengers daily.
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