President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, inaugurated the 37 kilometres Lagos Red Line rail system. Tinubu arrived the Ikeja Train Station at exactly 12.10 pm for the official commissioning.
The train is the first phase of the project, which will run from Agbado in Ogun State to Oyingbo in the heart of Lagos. The train, when fully operational, will make 37 trips and convey about 500,000 passengers daily.
The commissioning signals the take-off of another major game changer in the state’s transportation infrastructure.
The commissioning brings to two the rail lines owned and operated by the Lagos State government. The first, The Blue Line, runs from Marina to Mile 2, in its first phase.
The first phase of the Lagos Redline Rail has eight stations, namely: Agbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba and Oyingbo.
The train is expected to reduce drastically travel time on the corridor, abate stress-induced health challenges and increase the productive capacity of the economy. It will also reduce traffic gridlock, road accidents and ensure the safety of commuters.
As part of the inter-modal connectivity of our public transportation infrastructure, the Redline is integrated with Bus Terminals at Ikeja, Oshodi, Oyingbo, Ikeja, Yaba and Iju.
To guarantee the safety of commuters and residents, the rail corridor has 10 vehicular overpasses and pedestrian bridges to separate the train from vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
Recall, The Blue rail line started operations on September 4, ferrying passengers between Marina and Mile 2.