…Lagos Red Line operations likely to kick off February

In line with its THEMES agenda to bolster the infrastructure of Lagos State, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has procured additional rolling stocks for the Blue Line and Red Line rail operations, to bring more relief to millions of Lagos residents.

The Governor who is currently in China to further discussions on the Blue and Red rail lines explained the new purchase will improve the travel experience of residents in the State.

He said the additional rolling stocks are expected to arrive in Lagos before the end of the year.

The Lagos State team through its partners was able to secure an agreement for the additional rolling stocks for the Blue Line and Red Line rail lines to be ready within a year and delivered before the end of the year as against the normal two-year period that it takes for the construction company to build the coaches.

Speaking during a high-level meeting of Lagos State Government officials with the President and management of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) at its headquarters in Beijing, China, on Thursday, Governor Sanwo-Olu reiterated his administration’s commitment to the completion of the second phase of the Blue Line rail project and flag off of the commercial operations of the Red Line rail project.

“We have made requests for additional rolling stocks for Red Line and Blue Line. That conversation is ongoing. We have started making payments and hope that because of our commitment, we will get those rolling stocks before the end of the year. It would improve the journey experience of our people. It would improve citizens’ appreciation of what the government is doing to reduce transportation pressure in a big city like Lagos.

“With the new rolling stocks, we will have a more predictable journey time; the commuters and passengers would be more committed and we will see an improvement in the quality of lives and reduction of traffic gridlocks in the city,” the Governor said.    

Governor Sanwo-Olu, who was accompanied to the meeting by the Commissioner of Transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi; the Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Mrs. Abimbola Akinajo, Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Transportation, Honourable Temitope Adewale and his Environment parastatals counterpart, Hon. Rasheed Shabi and other top government officials, informed the CCECC team, that his government had promised over 22 million Lagosians that it would solve the traffic and transportation challenges they currently faced hence the need for the red line to take off without any further delay.

The Governor, who expressed satisfaction with the pace of progress of the Red Line project, hinted that the State Government is ready to inaugurate the Red Line rail for commercial operations as soon as the Presidency communicates the availability of President Bola Tinubu, who had agreed in principle to officially commission the project.

He said, “We are happy that during our tenure, we were able to complete phase one of the Blue Line and not just completing it, we started its operation and now we are seeing an increase in the passenger traffic every month. We have also increased the number of trips.

“People expect a lot more from us and that is why we are committed to phase two of the project. The work has started and we are trying to make money available for you (CCECC) to continue to push. I have said to people that within our second term, we should complete phase two of the Blue Line.  

“For the Red Line, which is even more exciting for us because we started the construction during our administration; we are happy that phase one of it is practically completed and I am happy to invite you when Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, would be commissioning the Red Line. We are still hoping to commission it within this February. 

“We believe the Red Line will carry more passengers than the Blue Line. The Red Line is longer and it has a lot of other infrastructure. All the bridge components that we are committed to have been completed and commissioned, with the exception of the one in Mushin.

“I want you to encourage the Federal Government to also complete their bridge components of the Red Line so that we can have a rail system that would not have any incident of traffic or interaction with vehicles or passengers and we can wall off and ensure it is a very safe rail corridor. There are a lot of interactions on the Red Line, so we need to ensure that we operate a rail corridor that is very safe for passengers, citizens and vehicular movement.

“We are also advancing conversation on the right of way at the corridor for phase two of the Red Line, which will take it based on what we are seeing to the connection of the Blue Line. That makes it a lot more functional because what it means is that passengers can hop in and hop out between the Red Line and Blue Line when phase two is completed.”    

Sanwo-Olu during his meeting with the President and management of the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) also had trade and investment discussions with the top officials of the company.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, also inspected one of the project sites of the China Railway Construction Group (CRCG) in Beijing, China. He was conducted around the major project facility of the Chinese construction company.

The fact-finding mission is connected to Governor Sanwo-Olu’s plan for the construction of some major infrastructural projects in Lagos State and his determination to increase the infrastructure stock of Lagos, especially in transportation.