By Funke Cole
The engine of the Lagos Red Line Rail revved off almost seamlessly, moving with such elegance akin to a handsome groom majestically approaching his beau!
So smooth was the train ride such that, to say we were awestruck is to state the obvious as the few passengers on-board sucked in everything from the beautiful scenery of the landscape during the few minutes stretch it took us to and fro Ikeja terminus to Alagbado that breezy Tuesday afternoon.
The event was the test-driving of the freshly minted Lagos Mass Transit Red Line Rail, which commenced partial operations on Wednesday, 28 August 2024.
Yours truly, with a few passengers on board the train, were received by officials of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), led by its spokesman, Mr. Kolawole Ojelabi.
The train conveyed passengers all free and did four trips between Oyingbo and Agbado. Although built with a capacity of 750,000 passenger traffic daily when fully operational, it will begin with a passenger traffic of 250,000 for the time being.
The Red Line is one of the six rail lines and one monorail prescribed for the state as part of its Strategic Transport Master Plan. It is also a transport project connecting Lagos with Ogun State as many workers and business owners in Lagos reside in the neighbouring state.
Ojelabi said the milestone marked the culmination of planning and training of technical and ground staff, installation of security features and a successful six-week trial run conducted without passengers to ensure the system’s safety, reliability and efficiency.
“The partial operations, similar to what was done during the test phase of the Blue Line, is a major step forward in realising the Lagos State government’s vision of a modern, efficient, integrated and sustainable transportation system.
“The Red Line’s first phase, a 37-kilometre rail road from Agbado to Oyingbo, will provide a reliable and affordable transportation option for commuters, reducing traffic congestion and improving the quality of life for Lagos residents”, the LAMATA spokesman said.
On 24 January 2023, the then President Muhammadu Buhari was in Lagos to commission the Lagos Blue Line, the first train mass transit ever built by a sub-national covering Marina to Mile 2. The fully electrified light rail system has since become operational, conveying thousands of commuters on the corridor on a daily basis.
While the Blue Line changed the state’s transportation master plan being implemented by LAMATA by adding the train option to the existing transportation channels, the Red Line is even bigger and a more impactful line as Agbado-Oyingbo route is one of the busiest transportation corridors between Lagos and Ogun States.
While the Blue Line track was wholly built by the state government, the Red Line shares the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) track from Agbado to Ebute-Meta with connection to the marine to align with the state’s water transportation facilities. Inaugurated earlier in the year by President Bola Tinubu. the corridor was Phase One of the three-phase project.
The three phases are: Phase 1 (Oyingbo to Agbado): Construction and operation of railway systems from Oyingbo to Agbado, sharing the track of NRC standard gauge from Ebute Meta to Agbado (26.3 km). It has stations such as Oyingbo, Yaba, Mushin, Oshodi, Ikeja, Agege, lju and Agbado. In addition, construction of four overpasses and three pedestrian bridges at Oyingbo, Yaba, Mushin and Ikeja to address at-grade level crossing challenges.
Phase 2 (Oyingbo to Marina): Extension of Red Line rail systems and operation from Oyingbo to Marina through an elevated rail infrastructure across the Lagoon. The stations are Iddo, Ebute- Ero and Marina. Phase 3 (Oyingbo to Agbado) involves the construction of independent rail systems from Oyingbo to Marina.
The state metro line project has been colour-coded in different phases comprising the Blue Line (Mile 2 to Marina); Red Line (Agbado-Marina); Purple Line (Redeem to Ojo); Yellow Line (Otta to Iddo); Brown Line (Mile 12 to Marina); Orange Line (Redeem to Marina) and Green Line (Marina to Lekki).