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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction

High-tech architecture, also known as late modernism or structural expressionism, is an architectural style that emerged in the late 1980s, this style became a bridge between modernisms and post modernism Architects of this style consider the technology a great achievement of modernity and also Consider it as the most important factor of development in the twentieth century in their opinion the main characteristics of each era shaped physically in the architecture of that period. Opinions and theories of Modern architecture and high-tech are so close to each other in the main principals and it can be said that the high-tech architecture is the Good Replacement of modern architecture. But in shape there are some differences between two styles In general it can be expression that the simples which is in modern architecture is not seen in high-tech and if the modern architectures display the machine their design, the high-tech architecture display the inside of the machine and its components. The main characteristic materials are metal and glass, which it purports to adhere to a strict code of honesty of expression, that it usually embodies ideas about industrial production, that it uses industries other

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than the building industry as sources both of technology and of imagery, and that it puts a high priority on flexibility of use. Therefore the high-tech architectural style deals with the incorporation of elements of high-tech industry and technology into building design. It is aimed at showing the technical elements of the building by externalizing them, thereby creating the buildings aesthetic. Advancement in transportation technology was a phenomenon of the twentieth century. High speeds are characteristics of modern travel. The consequences of these are increased travel opportunities, putting greater demands on transport services and an impact on the built environment. The challenge of transport architecture today is being able to adapt with rapidly evolving technology. As such, there is need for improved transportation services to conform to modern technological advancements. Railway stations entered a new age again in the late 20th century after the introduction of high-speed trains. As evident mostly in Europe, many new stations were built, and the old ones were renovated to efficiently serve the system. The revival of the stations was intended to create a continued language in station architecture. Borrowing from the 19th century architecture, the daring construction of very large spanned train sheds and the use of new materials, such as lightweight steel and glass, become a distinctive feature of 20th century railway architecture. The architecture of the railway stations has gone beyond the design of main functions, which include core, transition, peripheral, and administrative. Depending on the needs of the station, the design of these spaces has to

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also include supplementary functions; for instance, integration of light and structure, access for disabled people, and commercial development. It is possible to also see them as an expression of modern technology reflected in their daring structure and use of new materials.

1.2

Problem Statement

Initially different transportation modes were unconnected, but today the trend is towards an integrated system. Many railway stations form an interchange between modes of transportation that may include buses, air services, metros, taxi, private cars, and so forth. The design is, therefore, being applied to railway stations to reflect a new form of service. In addition to serving intercity rail lines, the concept emphasizes linkages to other transportation systems, the expansion of service across borders, and rail networks linking cities and their suburbs. As a consequence, new forms of station type are required. The design of the station ought to meet barrier free requirements throughout the facilities. Accessibility is also an issue that concerns everyone. Ross (2000) envisions that disabled people using railway stations are not only people in wheelchairs, but they include blind and partially sighted people, deaf people and those with poor hearing, people with learning disabilities, people with heavy luggage, people with young children, and elderly people. Impediments to access should not be considered only physically, but also psychologically.

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F or the modern train station more functions are integrated and the numbers of passengers are increased. The Stations appear to be more than people-processors, but can expedite people’s lifestyles. Similar to the design of airport terminals, the trend of the station design is to take full advantage of the time passengers wait around by providing facilities and entertainment.

1.3

Aims And Objectives

This thesis aims at exploring high-tech architecture as a means of designing a fully functional railway station for contemporary times. The following objectives have been identified as a result. i. ii.
iii.

Analyzing high-tech architecture as a means of expression Exploring contemporary trends in train station design. Creating an enabling environment for adequate circulation of both passengers and goods.

iv.

Examining a fundamental framework for resolving the interrelationship between each of the station activities and the means for minimizing conflicts and maximizing efficiency.

1.4

Motivation

The train is one of the most important and effective means of transportation today with the train stations elegantly designed as a hub in

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districts, towns and cities. Consequently, the ingenuity and creativeness of high-tech architecture is relatively missing in Nigerian architecture. Therefore, this provides the motivation to use the inventive principles of high-tech architecture in designing a contemporary railway station for Kaduna state that will serve as a centre and a model for railway development in Nigeria.

1.5

Justification

Kaduna state is a trade centre and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. Moreover, there is a grand plan conceived and initiated by the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua’s administration to revamp the transportation sector in Nigeria. The design which started with the dredging of the River Niger, rehabilitation and construction of roads, existing and standard railway lines, rehabilitation and upgrading of equipments at the nation’s airports and the construction of jetties and river ports along the dredged inland waterways to ease transportation in the country. The government designed the transformation of the transport sector in a way that the existing railway lines will not only be rehabilitated, but standard railway lines for electric trains will be constructed from Lagos to Kano through Ibadan, Minna, Abuja, and Kaduna starting with Kaduna to Abuja the contract which the late Yar’adua administration awarded before his demise.
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The administration also designed the linking of all the seaports, river ports and airports with railway lines not only to expand and develop the transport sector but also to relieve the roads of the present over burden of having to account for about 90 percent of the domestic transportation.

1.6

Scope

This research work will study the relevance as well as the applicability of high-tech architecture as a means of expression in contemporary design of railway stations. Furthermore, the development design is limited to the immediate station environment which includes; the station building for passengers and workers with its supporting facilities, external spaces from parking and loading/offloading bay to the platform areas.

1.7

Methodology Of Study

This research adopts a visual based approach to the study of dependent and independent variables. Information will be retrieved using primary and secondary sources. The primary sources shall include:
i.

Personal observation: this involves visiting the proposed site to assessment and site analysis.

ii.

Interviews: this involves consultations and discussions mostly through questionnaires with people in relation to railways.
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iii.

Case studies: This involves surveys of selected railway stations to ascertain their merits and demerits so as to assist in solving design related problems.

The secondary source includes: Information related to railways from publications like textbooks, journals, newspapers, magazines, and unpublished materials seminar papers and past thesis works.

CHAPTER TWO
DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW OF THE RAILWAY STATION

2.1

Definition of railway station

A railway station, also called a railroad station or train station and often shortened to just station, is a railway facility where trains regularly stop to load or unload passengers or freight. It generally consists of a platform next
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to the track and a station building (depot) providing related services such as ticket sales and waiting rooms (Wikipedia.com, 2012). It can be summarized as: a place where passenger trains stop on a railway line, typically with platforms and buildings (oxford dictionary). Dictionary of architecture and building construction summarized the definition of railway station as an establishment with platforms and associated buildings for a train to pick up and put down passengers.

2.2

Early Development of Railway station

According to Vicchio (1998), dating back to the 1630s, railways were developed in Britain. This was introduced because of the urgent need for a satisfactory means of moving coal overland in winter. The British were the pioneers of the railway. According to Bagwell (1974) the British railway system came into being through the efforts of the first generation of engineers to meet the rapid need of the expanding mining and textile industry. The need for a more efficient means of carrying coal from the pithead to the water side station led to the development of specialized tracks or railways. Railway stations had no distinctive history until the Liverpool and Manchester railway of 1830, with the opening of Manchester Liverpool Road and Liverpool Crown Street: the light passenger traffic on the Stockton and Darlington had run in a horse-drawn coach from inns. Both consisted of twostorey classical town houses, controlling access to a departure platform, the

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model for the first phase of British railway development. No intermediate stations were built. Alan Colquhoun (1995), claims that the railway station was the most “subversive” tangible expression of the industrial revolution. This is because the railway station was the first industrial structure to be raised in the hearth of the city. More so, these buildings were home to a “new type of machinery,” which was no longer a static implement of production but a dynamic instrument for public use. This originality of function and location meant that the railway station was a new type of architecture that was highly symbolic. The station was a place of transit, where two very different types of traffic trains and people interact and coexist. This feature would have a great influence on the principles employed in this very distinguished and heterogeneous type of architecture. From its earliest days the station was made up of two conjoined parts that were out of proportion from each other. On the one hand, there was the train shed that is the industrial space of the station. And on the other hand there was the station building proper, which is designed to receive travelers. The first railway station in the world was the Crown Street Station in Liverpool which was built in 1829-1830 with the assistance of the railway engineer George Stephenson and set benchmark for future developments in this type of architecture. The world's oldest railway station built for steam locomotives still in use is Broad Green railway station in Liverpool, England, which was built in 1830 and is on the Liverpool to Manchester Line. Crown

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Street station was the first to incorporate a Train shed. The station was demolished in 1836 as the Liverpool terminal station moved to Lime Street railway station. The station was later converted to a Goods station terminal.

Plate 2.1; crown street station Liverpool External view of the station building and train shed. Source: www.hows.org.uk

2.3

Advancements in Railway Station Design

The principal task of the railway was moving raw materials and manufactured goods. The scale of the freight business found expression in sheds and warehouses which were classic examples of the honest and functional 19th century design. This expression was lost in the face of changing approaches to freight handling. However, passenger stations have inevitably provided the principal expression of railway architecture. The first railway stations were made in the form of single platforms. But the

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generations that replaced them produced more complex and at times rather extravagant structures. The great age of railway station design was initiated in late 19th and early 20th centuries. Significant influences appeared in the Beaux-Art style, which originated in France. Examples include Grand Central Terminal in New York City, Main Street Station in Richmond, Virginia, and Union Station in Washington, D.C. After World War II, the continuous development of railways slowed noticeably. Since rail passenger service in many places started to decline due to the use of automobiles, the growth of bus transport, and the convenience of air travel--railways were not competitive and many grand stations deteriorated and even closed.

Plate 2.2; Grand central terminal, New York. External view of the station building Source: www.ominousweather.com/images

Railway stations entered a new age again in the late 20th century after the introduction of high-speed trains. As evident mostly in Europe, many new stations were built, and the old ones were renovated to efficiently serve the
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system. The revival of the stations was intended to create a continued language in station architecture. Borrowing from the 19th century architecture, the daring construction of very large spanned train sheds and the use of new materials, such as lightweight steel and glass, become a distinctive feature of 20th century railway architecture. Nicholas Grimshaw’s Waterloo International Terminal in London is one of the great new stations, which represents this new beginning. With a 1,300 foot-long and a 53 foot-wide shed supported by bowstring-shaped steel trusses, it clearly expresses the challenging work of bringing architecture and engineering together.

Plate 2.3; Waterloo International Terminal, London The exterior view of the train shed. Source: The Best in Leisure and Public Architecture, (p.150), 1993.

2.4 Design

Contemporary Trends in Railway Station

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Initially, different transportation modes were unconnected, but today the trend is towards an integrated system. Many railway stations form an interchange between modes of transportation that may include buses, air services, metros, taxi, private cars, and so forth. The intermodal concept is, therefore, being applied to railway stations to reflect a new form of service. In addition to serving intercity rail lines, the concept emphasizes linkages to other transportation systems, the expansion of service across borders, and rail networks linking cities and their suburbs. As a consequence, new forms of station type are required. International, airport, and metro or light rail stations represent different types emerging as distinctive building patterns for railway stations impacted by the intermodal concept (Kandee, 2001; Edwards, 1997).

2.4.1

International Railway Stations

According to Binney (1995), this station type emerged in the past two decades after the introduction of high-speed trains connecting countries in Western Europe. The services of rail lines crossing countries’ borders demanded particular facilities that differ from those of other stations. Many facilities have been borrowed from airports and adaptively applied to existing rail services. They include passport control, security checkpoints, and the different levels of departure and arrival pattern. The Waterloo International Terminal in London is an excellent example of this type of station. It utilizes many of the characteristics and functions of airports and provides different levels for departing and arriving passengers. The
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extraordinary structure of a 1,300 foot-long shed added to the old structure and supported by steel trusses also strongly expresses the language of airport architecture. Train tracks are on the third level. The floors below the train shed are designed to handle 15 million passengers annually with terminal services providing easy access to and from the concourse located on the ground level

Plate2.4: Waterloo International Terminal, London Cross section showing different levels of departure and arrival. Source: Railway Stations: Planning, design and management, (p.252), 2000.

2.4.2

Airport Railway Stations

Linking airports to inner cities via rail lines is one convenient way for passengers to access airports. This connection requires that railway facilities are located at the airport. Therefore, such railway stations are

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constructed as additional parts of airport buildings and some facilities with selected design elements adapted from the airport terminals to these stations. Obviously, the space provided must be sufficient to meet the needs of air-travel passengers who need extra facilities for baggage and group tours. Signs in a variety of languages are also provided when international travelers use the trains to airport connections. Copenhagen Airport Station located in Kastrup, Denmark is a good example of this station type. The triangular structure of Terminal 3 is added to the airport’s main terminal, and the station is placed at the point of the triangle to serve around 15% of passengers using the airport (S Kandee, 2001). Although airport railway stations 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. Advantages for the rider include faster travel time and easy interconnection with other public transport, while authorities have benefited from less highway and parking congestion, less pollution, and additional business opportunities. Additionally, the links benefit airports by drawing in more passengers via easy access.

2.4.3

Metro or Light Railway Stations

A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system. It is often underground or elevated. According to Edwards (1997), light rail refers to a transit system, which combines the vehicle technology of trams and buses with the characteristics of steel rail engineering. It is well adapted to cities and suburban needs, and also has the advantages of
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flexibility and less expensive installation and maintenance than a regional rail system. A good example is the Bangkok Mass Transit System. It is a street-based high-level light rail system that places most stations on a double cantilever supported by a line of single columns. These attributes also make such stations very suitable for linking rail services to airport. Often, a metro station and an airport station may serve simultaneously as the starting and destination points for the same rail service. This necessitates the sharing of certain facilities. For example, baggage check-in and security may be provided at the metro station rather than at the airport station. The Chek Lap Kok Terminal, Hong Kong is a station that provides those facilities supporting air travel. It gives direct access to the airport terminal building for passengers arriving at or departing the airport by rail.

156,000 m²

Plate2.5: Chek Lap Kok Airport Passenger Terminal, Hong Kong The Terminal has one of the world’s largest roof areas at Source: www.greatbuildings.com

Metro stations, more so than railway and bus stations, often have a characteristic artistic design that can identify each stop. Some have

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sculptures or frescoes. For example, London's Baker Street station is adorned with tiles depicting Sherlock Holmes. The tunnel for Paris' Concorde station is decorated with tiles spelling the Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen. Every metro station in Valencia, Spain has a different sculpture on the ticket-hall level. Each station of the Red Line and Purple Line subway in Los Angeles was built with different artwork and decorating schemes, such as murals, tile artwork and sculptural benches. This is not always the case; however, Sir Norman Foster's new system in Bilbao, Spain uses the same modern architecture at every station to make navigation easier for the passenger, though some may argue that this is at the expense of character. In some stations, especially

where trains are fully automated, the entire platform is screened from the track by a wall, typically of glass, with automatic platform-edge doors. These open, like elevator doors, only when a train is stopped, and thus eliminate the hazard that a passenger will accidentally fall (or deliberately jump) onto the tracks and be run over or electrocuted. Control over ventilation of the platform is also improved, allowing it to be heated or cooled without having to do the same for the tunnels. The doors add cost and complexity to the system, and trains may have to approach the station more slowly so they can stop in accurate alignment with them (http://en.wikipedia.org, 2012).

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2.5

The Nigerian Railway System

Nigeria was the first country in Africa to have a well thought through and ‘funded’ railway system. After years of neglect and decay, passenger services have all but ceased across major tracks. In 1895 the Lagos railway line began its march from Iddo to Ibadan, and was opened six years later on March 4, 1901. The first locomotives consisted of three locomotives manufactured by the Hunslet Engine Co. Ltd., of Leeds. The original line ran north-west along the waterfront, from a point near Government House and the European residential area around the Race course, to Customs Wharf, where it turned north-east towards Ereko Market and Idumota. After the commencement of a 2ft. 6in.-gauge line over Carter Bridge in 1901, the Lagos Steam Tramway was opened in May 23, 1902.

2.5.1

Brief history of the Nigerian railway system

The Nigerian Railway system officially came into existence in October, 1912 when Frederick Lugard merged the pre-existing Lagos government railway and the Baro-Kano railway to become the 'Nigerian Railway'. The merger further enhanced the desirability of merging the Northern and Southern

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Nigeria protectorates. The railway line ran on two principal North and South trunks: one from Lagos to Nguru and Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, both tracts having branch extensions. In the 1950s, partly for economic reasons, the railway system in the country came under the coordination of the Nigerian Railway Corporation. The rail transport system employed Nigerian workers from the various ethnic groups in the country and was known as having a diversified workforce which also included West Indians. Prior to the creation of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, the government railway department had four core sections, the engineering department, running department, traffic and commercial department, and accounts and stores department.

2.5.2

Development of the Nigerian railway system

Akintokunbo Adejumo (2008), Claims that the Nigerian Railway was constituted by the amalgamation of the Lagos Government and the Baro-Kano Railway on October 2, 1912, but the history of the railways in Nigeria started when Sir William MacGregor declared open a 3 ft. 6 in. gauge line from Lagos to Ibadan on March 4, 1901. The actual construction began in 1898 after the Lagos Government had approved of a railway of nearly sixty miles in length from Lagos to Abeokuta. When Zungeru was chosen for the administrative headquarters of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, the highest point of navigation on the
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Kaduna River was Wushishi. A start was made to construct a tramway in May 1901, for a distance of 12 miles to connect the two places, and this was finished in December of the same year. It was then decided that the river facilities downstream at Bari-Juko were better, so a further ten miles were added in 1902. The total cost was £31,500. The line carried the building material and stores for the new headquarters for a total of nine years. It is assumed that the tramway followed the course of the west bank of the Kaduna River. The Baro-Kano Railway was completed in 1910 and linked to the Lagos Railway at Minna: as this line passed through Zungeru, a better route was provided. The Wushishi Tramway being no longer required, the track was lifted and sent to Zaria and used again on the construction of the Bauchi Light Railway, between Zaria and Bukuru. The two locomotives and the rolling stock were also sent to Zaria. No precise dates of closure are known, but the opening dates of the Baro-Kano and Lagos Government railway sections in the area give some indication when the tramway ceased working. Of the former, the Baro-Minna section was opened on April 1, 1910, and Minna to Zaria on April 1, 1911, while the Jebba-Minna portion of the Lagos Government Railway was officially opened on January 1, 1912. The first section of the Bauchi Light Railway, between Zaria and Rahama, was opened on April 1, 1912, and the two ushishi Tramway locomotives were included in the stock of the Bauchi Light Railway in the return to the Government dated December 31, 1911. The Bauchi Light Railway

was authorised on January 21, 1911, and construction commenced almost

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immediately. The first section from Zaria to Rahama (86 miles) was opened on April 1, 1912. Further sections opened were Rahama to Jengre (15 miles) on July 7, 1913, Jengre to Jos (32 miles) on July 6, 1914, and finally Jos to Bukuru (10 miles) on December 10, 1914. Jos and Bukuru are 4000 ft. and 4,500 ft. above sea level, and are in an important tin mining area. The railway was the only means of communication at that time. The section between Jos and Bukuru was converted to 3 ft. 6 in gauge during 1926-27, when the branch line from Kafanchan to Jos, on the Nigerian Eastern Railway Extension, was constructed. The last passenger train from Jos to Zaria ran on September 30, 1957, thus ending a 35-year service. The discovery of coal at Enugu and the opening of the Jos-Kafanchan-MakurdiEnugu-Port Harcourt line really precipitated the decline of the Bauchi Light Railway as a paying concern. The Lagos Sanitary Tramway was built in 1906 to make possible the more efficient disposal of the sewage. The line ran from Dejection Jetty, south of the Five Cowrie Creek Bridge, northwards over this bridge and along Marina to a junction with the Lagos Steam Tramway, at Ereko Street Market. In 1907 the locomotive named Kokomaiko was put into service but, because of its weight, was not allowed to work over the Carter Bridge and Five Cowrie Creek Bridge. The loaded trucks were therefore pushed over the Five Cowrie Creek Bridge to Dejection Jetty by prison labour, which at the time was employed in the disposal of night soil. Railway in Nigeria still maintains a predominantly North-South orientation which makes a Port Harcourt bound rail commuter from Lagos traverse 1,820km as compared with only about 500km as the crow flies. In urban

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centres which are rail linked, trains merely run through, stopping only once within the city, apart from Lagos and Port Harcourt where very limited rail commuter services are provided. As of today, the Railway system is made up of 3505 route – kilometers of narrow gauge (1067 mm) track, 30km of which is in double track while the rest is in single track. In addition to the foregoing is the 19km 1067mm gauge extension from Port Harcourt to Onne deep-sea port and the 277km standard gauge rail construction (1435mm) from Ajaokuta and Warri (Okanlawon, K. R., 2006). Today the picture is as follows: Hadejia, Kano, Gusau, Minna, Ilorin, Oshogbo, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ikeja are linked by railways from south – west up North while Maiduguri, Gombe, Bauchi, Jos, Lafia, Makurdi, Enugu, Umuahia, Port-Harcourt are linked by the Railways from south – east up north. But the following state capitals are not connected by the railways: Calabar, Uyo, Yenagoa, Benin, Asaba, Akure, Ado-Ekiti, Owerri, Abakaliki, Lokoja, Birnin Kebbi, Sokoto, Jalingo, Yola, Damaturu and Awka. Only two seaports (Apapa and Port Harcourt) are served by the railways while none of the airports is connected to the railways. Only 19 out of the 36 states are served by the railway while the Federal Capital is yet to be connected by the Railways (Edward, 2001).

The operational performance of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) for the period 1970-2004 is presented in Table 1 below.

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Table 1: Volume of Passengers and Freight carried by NRC (1970-2004)
Passenger carried 8,942,000 6,151,000 5,819,000 5,131,000 4,342,000 6,755,000 7,491,000 6,747,000 6,750,000 6,771,000 4,917,000 9,638,000 11,612,000 13,142,000 15,553,000 11,324,000 9,878,000 7,383,000 4,196,000 6,520,000 6,345,000 3,443,000 1,747,000 1,502,000 784,491 2,889,977 2,626,026 2,946,940 1,070,424 1,788,171 2,610,435 1,284,022 942,594 1,608,447 1,751,159 Revenue N 4,676,000 6,296,000 7,447,000 6,906,000 6,067,000 11,003,000 10,004,000 10,822,000 12,982,000 18,716,000 17,290,000 26,623,000 28,288,000 29,877,000 33,147,000 36,205,000 39,059,000 35,750,000 25,117,000 24,318,000 31,403,000 19,300,000 17,013,000 14,627,000 36,809,884 56,144,354 112,907,824 126,456,928 74,457,194 88,882,085 142,920,540 110,456,518 62,977,167 103,853,378 206,772,909 Freight Tonnage 1,311,000 1,311,000 1,519,000 2,129,000 1,098,000 1,612,000 1,452,000 2,375,000 1,592,000 1,543,000 1,153,000 1,932,000 2,185,000 1,619,000 1,458,000 1,182,000 852,000 353,000 326,000 202,000 198,000 237,000 204,000 106,000 106,000 107,878 137,661 535,000 1,513,077 737,239 116,837 132,813 98,192 56,178 62,575 Revenue N 18,438,000 15,680,000 17,095,000 18,025,000 12,205,000 14,724,000 16,772,000 17,172,000 16,251,000 21,861,000 23,313,000 45,090,000 49,021,000 36,499,000 33,335,000 34,247,000 26,335,000 15,632,000 13,206,000 18,155,000 35,911,000 64,400,000 49,732,000 25,841,000 121,911,902 133,911,902 161,348,796 219,175,125 438,779,607 404,346,982 155,865,908 165,256,201 132,907,397 101,088,080 112,480,539 Total Revenue (Pass+Freight) 23,114,000 21,976,000 24,542,000 24,931,000 18,272,000 25,727,000 26,726,000 27,994,000 29,233,000 40,577,000 40,603,000 71,713,000 77,309,000 66,376,000 66,482,000 70,452,000 65,394,000 51,382,000 38,323,000 42,473,000 67,314,000 83,700,000 66,745,000 40,468,000 158,712,786 190,026,256 274,256,624 435,632,053 513,236,801 493,229,067 298,786,448 275,712,719 195,884,564 206,606,083 319,253,448

Year 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Source: Nigerian Railway Corporation (2003-2005)

As can be seen from the Table 1 above, over the years, the railway traffic has been declining losing its patronage to highly competitive road and air transportation modes. In the last thirty-five years, the highest number of passengers carried was 15.55 million in 1984 and the highest volume of freight was 2.37 million metric tonnes in 1977. The traffic has fallen even much more plummeting to less than 2 million passengers and less than
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200,000 metric tonnes of freight in 2001. In 2004, 1,751,159 passengers were moved while 62,575tonnes of goods were hauled (Okanlawon, 2006).
Fig. 1: NRC Passenger and Freight Traffic (1970-2004)
18000000 16000000 14000000 12000000 10000000 8000000 6000000 4000000 2000000 0
70 19 72 19 74 19 76 19 78 19 80 19 82 19 84 19 86 19 88 19 90 19 92 19 94 19 96 19 98 20 00 20 02 20 04 19

Volume

Passenger Freight

Year

2.5.3

Relevance of railway development in Nigeria

Nwanze (2002), emphasized that a virile railway system plays a significant role in the sectorial development and overall growth of any economy. It opens up regions, hinterlands and rural areas by facilitating agricultural development as well as facilitates the growth of cottage/large scale industries. It also attracts residential, commercial, educational and recreational settlements and developments around its corridor. It is in this context that rail transport mode should be seen as the mainframe or pivot around which an integrated national transport system should be built with other modes complementing. Its capacity which is further

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accentuated by its safety and security factors as well as its ability to travel longer distance, with ease and lower unit costs, places it in good stead to serve as the hub of a transport system of a nation. The traditional function of rail has been two-fold, namely: the economic carriage by land of bulky commodities and the relative rapid movement of large numbers of people and goods. This carriage has been done over medium to long distances. Railways’ contemporary advantage today revolves around the provision of interurban passenger travel and freight movement. This has been facilitated by the inherent characteristics of rail transport and various technological advancements. In terms of inter-city travels, railways can now compete favourably even with air transport in journey of around 400 kilometers. While air transport has less elapsed travelling time, it still has to overcome problems of access to and from airports and of the wasted time spent at the terminal. Road transport by the private car is usually rail’s main competitor but railways are able to achieve higher speeds and also easier access into the heart of cities (Filani, 2004).

According to Oyesiku (2004), revitalization of the rail system for mass transportation of city residents is perhaps the most important strategy for sustainable urban transportation development in Nigeria. Modernization of the existing network towards meeting the basic intra-city travel needs of the people is imperative. The type of system envisaged is that of the light rail, which the present nation’s economy can easily support. In the long run the fast metro-rail system is most inevitable particularly in the large metropolitan cities of the country.

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CHAPTER THREE
DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW OF HIGH-TECH ARCHITECTURE

2.1

Definition of High-Tech Architecture
High –tech architecture or Late Modernism is an architectural style

that emerged in the 1970s, incorporating elements of high-tech industry and technology into building design. High-tech architecture appeared as a revamped modernism, an extension of those previous ideas aided by even more advances in technological achievements. This category serves as a bridge between modernism and post modernism; however there remain gray areas as to where one category ends and the other begins. (Http://wikipedia.com). High-Tech is an architectural style originating from England in the 1970s and 1980s, characterized by use of modern technology in design solutions and in the outward mechanistic expression of buildings (dictionary of architecture and building construction).
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Colin Davis, who has made one of the most comprehensive survey of High Tech architecture, defines it as: “Its characteristic materials are metal and glass, it purports to adhere to a strict code of honesty of expression, it usually embodies ideas about industrial production, it uses industries other than the building industry as sources both for technology and imagery, and it puts a high priority on the flexibility of use.” (Davis, 1988,). High-tech architecture aimed to achieve a new industrial aesthetic, spurred on by the renewed faith in the progression of technology. The characteristics have varied somewhat, yet all have accentuated technical elements. They included the prominent display of the building’s technical and functional components, and an orderly arrangement and user of prefabricated elements. Glass walls and steel frames were also immensely popular. High Tech is an avant-garde, optimistic architecture that believes in progress through industrial technology. It believes in invention rather than tradition, in temporary arrangements rather than permanent institutions, and in the ability to control the environment rather than adapting to it. High Tech buildings imply a revolutionary, rather than a traditional, view of the city. If a complete High Tech city were ever to be built it would be an abstract, fully serviced matrix or mega structure, flexible and demountable, like the utopian urban visions of the 1960s: Peter Cook's Plug-in City, Yona Friedman's “Ville Spatiale", or the indeterminate city structures envisaged by the Japanese Metabolists. In these theoretical projects, as in their built High Tech counterparts, structure, access, services and equipment are

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more important than space and place, whether internal or external, private or public.

2.1

BRIEF HISTORY OF HIGH-TECH ARCHITECTURE

Even though high-tech architecture is believed to have started between the 1970s and the 1980s, according to Colin Davies (1988), its history dates back over 200 years to the construction of the first cast iron bridge over the River Severn at Coalbrookdale. This is an all-metal prefabricated structure, completely honest in its use of materials and structural forms, but designed as much for elegance as for practicality. Davies (1988), believes that in the long term, this must be the favourite candidate for the title "first High Tech structure". This may seem like far too remote a source for an architectural style born in the 1960s, but the bridge is still standing and we should not underestimate the influence of eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century engineering structures on British architects. Decimus Burton's Palm House at Kew Gardens of 1848, the long-span iron, steel and glass roofs over the great railway termini built throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, Eiffel's tower and Contamin and Dutert's Galerie des Machines built for the Paris Exhibition of 1889, and of course Paxton's legendary Crystal Palace built for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Structures such as these are enduring influences on today's High Tech architects. They represent an alternative mode of building, based on industrial technology rather than architectural tradition. High Tech architecture shares their confidence and optimism and also, to a large extent, their relatively primitive technology.

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Another significant theme in the history of high-tech architecture is the Sant' Elia's Citta Nuova, exhibited in 1914. This according to Colin Davies (1988), is among the earliest depictions of an architecture that glorifies the technology of concrete, steel, and glass, and which gives dramatic external expression to lift towers, girder bridges, and elevated walkways. The similarities to the more sculpturesque examples of the High Tech style, especially the work of Richard Rogers, are striking. "We no longer believe in the monumental, the heavy and static, and have enriched our sensibilities with a taste for lightness, transience and practicality," wrote Sant' Elia in the catalogue to the Citta Nuova exhibition. "We must invent and rebuild ex novo our modern city like an immense and tumultuous shipyard, active, mobile and everywhere dynamic, and the modern building like a gigantic machine. Lifts must not longer hideaway like solitary worms in the stairwells, but must swarm up the facades like serpents of glass and iron.” The Maison de Verre in Paris which completed in 1932 is another notable influence in the history of high tech architecture. This building is a curious assemblage of mass-produced, machine-like components with a flexible plan and an external wall made entirely of glass lenses. Richard Rogers, who is one of the most influential advocates of high-tech visited this building in 1959, and later acknowledges it has had the most influence on his architecture.

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