Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, led other members of the state executive council on the maiden commercial trip of the Red Line, experience, describing the trip as exciting, very smooth and taking at few moments to arrive one’s destination unlike spending “long hours in traffic.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu was also accompanied by the Managing Director of LAMATA, Abimbola Akinajo, who led other top officials of the agency.
The train kicked off from Oyingbo station at exactly 5:20 pm and arrived at Agbado station at 6:25 pm.
“You can all see, it is exciting and very smooth instead of spending long hours in traffic within short minutes you arrive at your destination,” the governor said of his experience.
The passengers on board, who included the media and other dignitaries, equally expressed joy over the trip, describing it as fascinating.
One of the passengers, Mrs Chizoba, expressed satisfaction with the trip, saying she felt comfortable throughout the trip, just as she described it as beautiful.
Tuesday’s trip was the second time in less than two years that Governor Sanwo-Olu would be performing the historic ride, having done same on September 4, 2023 on the state’s first metro line, an electric train, from Marina to Mile 2.
The Red Line’s construction commenced in 2021 and was inaugurated on February 29, 2024 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) had already presented the operator, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), with the requisite licences to operate the two metro lines.
The commercial operation is from Agbado, a densely populated border community in Ogun State, to Oyingbo on Lagos Mainland.
The 27km Oyingbo-Agbado line is the first phase of the 37km lane that is expected to terminate at Marina, going through Iddo, Otto and through the lagoon.
LAMATA, in a statement via its official X (formerly Twitter) account, said that the NRC granted a three-year operational licence to the Blue Line and a six-month temporary licence to the Red Line.
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 making 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 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 train’s stabling yard, it was gathered, would, in the meantime, be at Oyingbo, while efforts were being made to complete the Agbado stabling yard soon.
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