By The Lagos State Government has entered a major deal with the authorities of Milwaukee in Wisconsin, United States over the acquisition of two high-speed trains for the ongoing Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) projects.
According to Milwaukee news outlet CBS 58, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, visited Wisconsin to purchase the two trainsets that were originally built for the U.S. state.
The trains were manufactured 11 years ago by the Spanish company Talgo, which has a plant at 27th and Townsend in Milwaukee’s Century City business park.
Lagos State Government is buying the trains for its Red Line — the first operational metro system in West Africa, which it hopes to make operational by the last quarter of 2022.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said he hopes the deal is the “beginning of a mutually beneficial business relationship.”
“It’s all about providing jobs, jobs, jobs for our people and that’s what we’re doing. It’s about ensuring that we can build our economy. It’s that our people can move from one location to another,” he said.
Also speaking at the meeting, Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson said, “We’re proud of the products that are produced here, proud of the Milwaukee workers who are employed here, and we’re very proud of the trains that are here in this facility, as well. When they arrive in service in Lagos, I hope that you’ll think about Milwaukee.”
The Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) projects — the Red and Blue Lines — are part of the intermodal transportation system of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration in reducing gridlock and ensuring interconnectivity in different parts of the state.
The rail projects are being undertaken by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), an agency under the Ministry of Transportation.
