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The Cable, Lagos, Nigeria, 1/19/22

 

Lagos ‘completes purchase’ of two Talgo trains originally designed for US city

 

 

 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, on Tuesday, visited the factory of Talgo Inc, a train manufacturer, in Milwaukee, to attend a ceremony ‘marking the purchase of two Series 8 trains’ for the red line train project in the state.

 

 

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. . .  the Red Line runs from Agbado to Marina.  . . .

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WUWM-FM, Milwaukee, WI  1/19/22

 

Milwaukee-built Talgo trains head to Africa, while company hires here

 

The Milwaukee-built passenger train cars then-Gov. Scott Walker didn't want for high-speed rail in Wisconsin are headed for use in Africa. Meanwhile, Talgo, the company that built the cars, said they are looking to hire people at its north side factory.

The train car story dates back about a dozen years to when Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle wanted to use federal money to develop high-speed passenger rail between Milwaukee and Madison. The Spanish company, Talgo, signed on to make the train sets in Milwaukee. But as Republican Scott Walker became governor in late 2010, he canceled the high-speed rail. Since then, the train cars have been stored elsewhere and sometimes returned to the Talgo plant.

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Milwaukee (WI) Business Journal, 1/20/22

 

Talgo passenger trains built in Milwaukee to be shipped to Nigeria

 

 

Two passenger trains that Talgo Inc. got back through a 2015 lawsuit settlement with the state of Wisconsin will be shipped to Nigeria and put into service on West Africa’s first operational metro system.

 

The trains were built in Milwaukee and originally intended to run on Amtrak’s Hiawatha line between the city and Chicago. The plan was derailed when Wisconsin officials refused to build a maintenance facility to put them into service, and canceled an order for two additional train sets. That spurred a 2012 lawsuit from Talgo, and a settlement between the parties in 2015.

 

Talgo has been seeking a buyer for those train sets. They will now be put into service in the Red Line in Lagos State, according to press releases from city of Milwaukee officials.  . . .

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Milwaukee (WI) Journal Sentinel, 1/20/22

 

Talgo trains sat idle in a Milwaukee facility now heading to Nigeria

 

 

The train cars were supposed to run on a rail stretching from Milwaukee to Madison, but now they're heading to Nigeria.

 

Lagos Gov. Sanwo Olu toured the Talgo facility in Milwaukee with Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson earlier this week. 

 

“A train is not something you can just go on the shelf and pick up. We are very lucky to get brand new trains," Olu said. 

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Global Voices, Amsterdam, Netherlands  1/21/22

 

Lagos’ train acquisition is Wisconsin's loss 

The trains will ease traffic in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital

 

Written by Nwachukwu Egbunike

 

 

On Jan. 18, Nigeria’s Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu purchased two trains from Talgo, a train manufacturing plant based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., for the Lagos Metro Rail project which debuts in 2022. The trains will help ease traffic congestion in one of Africa's busiest cities, while also resolving a bitter conflict between local politicians in a North American country. 

 

Toxic partisan politics between local Democrats and Republicans resulted in a long legal battle between Talgo and the State of Wisconsin. Hence, the trains “originally built for a high-speed rail line between Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and the Twin Cities” have been unused for a decade.

 

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Oladeinde Olawoyin, a journalist with online newspaper Premium Times asserts that “the Lagos light rail has suffered neglect after 17 years of failed promises.” The delay in completing the Lagos train project, according to Olawoyin, was linked to “accountability issue raised in connection with the discrepancies in the funding costs.”

 

The recent purchase of the trains is projected to be a win for Lagos, as long as the government follows through on its plan.

 

 

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