Lagos plans downtown rail connections to Murtala Airport

Lagos State, Nigeria’s economic hub and former capital city, home to 20 million people, is seeking to build downtown rail connections to the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja.
The airport connections proposed as light rail, BusinessDay learnt, will be linked to the inter-modal transportation system being promoted by the government, to boost the state’s overall public transportation master plan.
The MMIA is Nigeria’s busiest airport, with passenger volumes doubling to 15 million in 2017 from 7.5 million in 2014 and expected to rise to 30 million over the next few years.
Data gathered from the two air cargo handling companies, Skyways Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, Nahco Aviance (NAHCO), which handles 100 percent of all export and import cargoes going through Nigerian airports show that cargo exports from Nigeria amount over 18.7million kilograms annualy, and the bulk of this goes through the MMIA. Imports recorded in the two warehouses annually amount to about 64.million kilograms, much of which likewise passes through the MMIA.

A total of six rail lines and one mono rail are proposed under the transportation master plan, with several Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes and over 30 waterways. The inter-modal system is planned in a manner that will create convenience and allow a commuter the luxury of choice for his or her trip.
If the state pushes through with the airport rail, the MMIA will become the first airport in the country to be linked to a rail system. Nigeria presently has 28 airports which are managed by the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and one managed by Akwa-Ibom State airport by state. The country also has 13 airstrips managed by various states and three military airports. Nigeria ranks prominently among countries with no airport-rail connections.
Taiwo Salami, Director, Transport Services, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, told BusinessDay on the side-line of the second annual stakeholders’ forum on water transportation in Lagos, Thursday, that the alignment for the airport rail is already mapped out.
“The alignment is there and we are opening discussions with the Federal Government to make the project a reality,” said Salami, adding that the project is part of the inter-modal system that will transform the face of public transportation in Nigeria’s commercial city. He did not, however, say when work will begin on the light rail.
Igwe Francis, the Public Relations Officer, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), however, says “linking a railway to the airport is not yet confirmed, but if that happens, that will be very great, especially when the airports will be concessioned.
Gatwick airport in London is owned by a Nigerian and Gatwick is one of the biggest in the world. Most of the airports with international standards have railways. In countries in Europe and outside Europe, immediately you are coming out of the terminal, you can board a train. This is the world standard. This is one of the best things that will happen.
“The benefit of having a railway linked to the airport is that it will boost the economy. The cargo goods are carried out of the airport with buses but if we have trains stationed at the airport, the goods will go straight from the airport to various states of the country. It will also facilitate airport movement.”
Although airport rail links have been popular solutions in Europe and Japan for decades, only recently have links been constructed in North America and Oceania, and the rest of Asia.
Tayo Ojuri, an industry expert and Chief Executive Officer, Aglo Limited, an aviation support service, says that the advantages of having a railway linked to the airport include faster travel time and easy interconnection with other public transport, less parking congestion, less pollution, and additional business opportunities and lower cost.
BusinessDay’s checks show that Heathrow Airport is served by two train services: Heathrow Express, a direct non-stop service between Heathrow Airport and London Paddington Station, and Heathrow Connect, a local service with more regular stops in west London en route to London Paddington.

Gatwick Airport connects directly with the South Terminal by a railway and is served by a range of train operators, including Gatwick Express, which runs non-stop services to and from London Victoria, every 15 minutes.
Furthermore, the railway station at Stansted Airport is below the terminal building – and regular services link the airport with central and east London, eastern England and the Midlands.
A joint study released in November 2013 by the U.S. Travel Association and non-profit American Public Transportation Association (APTA) says that a rail link to an airport is not just convenient; but can have a financial edge.
“We found that cities with airport rail connections have a competitive advantage in generating revenues for the private sector and the overall city tax base, compared to similar cities that do not have direct rail connection to the airport,” Darnell Grisby, APTA’s director of research and policy, said in an interview CNBC.
The study compared hotel performance in six cities with airport rail service—Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Portland, Ore., and San Francisco—to hotel performance in popular convention cities without direct airport rail service—Las Vegas, New Orleans, Orlando, Fla., Sacramento, Calif., and Tampa, Fla.
Hotels in rail cities were found to receive nearly 11 percent more revenue per room than hotels in cities without an airport rail connection. According to the study, that higher revenue per room translates to a potential $313 million in revenue per year for the rail cities.

 
JOSHUA BASSEY & IFEOMA OKEKE