COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED MAJOR RAIL DEVELOPMENT IN LAGOS, NIGERIA.

Peter Abelson

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1995

Subject Area

operations - traffic, land use - planning, ridership - commuting, mode - rail, mode - mass transit

Keywords

Transit, Railways, Railroads, Railroad commuter service, Public transit, Planning, Passenger traffic, Mass transit, Local transit, Lagos (Nigeria), Commuting, Commuter service, Commuter rail

Abstract

Railways are often advocated, despite the high subsidies usually required, because of their carrying capacity and the perceived environmental advantages of air quality, safety, energy savings and general urban amenity. This paper reviews these issues taking Lagos as a case study. After reviewing transport issues in Lagos, the paper provides a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the proposed metro. Special attention is paid to land take requirements, severance, air quality, traffic noise, construction impacts and various minor environmental impacts. The paper concludes that the metro (as proposed) is economically and financially a very marginal prospect. Important points that emerge are the critical importance of efficient transport management, the importance of social impacts, the relatively minor importance of environment impacts, and the need for more attention to network and land use impacts.

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