Tinubu arrives Lagos today for commissioning of Lagos rail Red Line
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will today arrive in Lagos for the commissioning of the Lagos rail Red Line.
The rail line is a 37-kilometre rail line, built by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).
The LRMT Red Line rail system, the first phase of which we project will move more than 500,000 passengers daily, stretches over a distance of 27 kilometres from Agbado to Oyingbo, with eight stations at Agbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba, and terminates at Oyingbo.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu during the course of the weekend took a test run of the Red Line train, inspecting the tracks and the rail corridors for another time ahead of next Thursday formal commissioning of Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) infrastructure.
Sanwo-Olu took journalists on a train ride from the Ikeja Mega Station of the Red Line in a last-minute effort to make the infrastructure ready for opening.
Joining the Governor on the ride was the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, and members of the State cabinet.
The Red Line train, which left the garage track for the first time since it was delivered, departed from Ikeja Mega Station at exactly 2:23pm, moving steadily towards Agbado Station.
Six minutes later, the passengers arrived at Agege Station. The journey proceeded to Iju Station, arriving at 2:38pm — 15 minutes after leaving Ikeja.
While on board, Sanwo-Olu and his deputy moved along the coaches in a bid to ascertain the conditions of the train cars — a set of Talgo wagons built in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States.
Some of the comfort facilities inspected by the Governor included the train’s cooling system, handrails, cushioned seats and in-built safety features of the wagons.
He said, “We just completed another inspection of the Red Rail Line facility and corridor; now we are back in Ikeja Mega Station. We all have just used the train to Iju and back. I’m sure our media men can fully report what we all witnessed in the course of the short journey. This rail infrastructure is ready for inauguration, but we still have a few cleaning to do.
“The challenge we have is the pedestrian interference on the rail track and unapproved activities seen along the corridor. We will continue with the enforcement we started against illegal use of the rail corridor. We are in talks with NRC (Nigeria Railway Corporation) to reinforce the train route with physical barriers to limit pedestrian interference.”
The Governor urged the State’s residents to adhere to the rules of using the rail line, noting that infrastructure was not built for commercial activities.
The train operation, Sanwo-Olu said, would be regular and trips would be made every 15 minutes. He said it was necessary to eliminate incidents that could result in fatality along the track.
“We have reduced human interference on the track considerably over the last two months, but enforcement continues. The stations are ready, the trains are ready and I believe Lagosians are ready to welcome this new infrastructure built for their use and benefit,” Sanwo-Olu said.
