Red Line to resume commercial operations, as Sanwo-Olu takes first ride

The Lagos Red Line Mass Transit is set to commence commercial operations with Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the state executive council members taking a first ride today.

The commercial operation for which a commercial schedule was released last Friday by Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) will be launched from Agbado, a densely populated border community in Ogun State, from where it will head for Oyingbo on Lagos Mainland.

The Red Line, which is operated by LAMATA for the Lagos State Government, is a diesel propelled locomotive bought by the state government from Talgo train in Tulsa,  United States of America.

It shares the national corridor with the NRC.

According to the schedule, the train runs twice at peak periods- morning and evening, leaving Agbado by 6am, getting to Iju by 6:07am, arriving Agege by 6:1am, Ikeja by 6:29am, Oshodi by 6:40am, Mushin by 6:49am, Yaba by 6:57 am and Oyingbo by 7:07am.

The second train is expected to leave Agbado by 7:10am and make the final destination at Oyingbo by 8:27am.

For the evening trip, the train will leave Oyingbo by 6:20pm and get to its final destination by 6:27 pm, while another one departs the same Oyingbo by 6:47pm and gets to Agbado by 7:47pm.

From Agbado end, the evening shuttle, according to the schedule, also leaves Agbado by 6:50pm and gets to Oyingbo by 7:57pm, while the second train leaves Oyingbo by 8:10pm to get to Agbado by 9:17pm.

The Red Line was inaugurated on February 29 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

A trial run had been conducted on the Red Line from September to October, in accordance with the requirement by the regulator, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), which last Friday presented the operator, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), with the requisite licences to operate the two metro lines.