Red Line rail for test run ahead roll out 2024 — Sanwo-Olu

…inaugurates Yaba Flyover

The Lagos State government is working to commence the test run of the Red Line rail planned as the second mass transportation system in Nigeria’s biggest economy state, after the 27km Blue Line that is already in operation.

The Red Line is a 37km rail route proposed to run from Agbado to Marina with 13 stations at Agbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, MMIA International, (domestic), Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba, Ebute Metta, Iddo, Ebute Ero, and Marina.

Read also: Lagos eyes December for Red Rail Line completion

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu gave the hint at the inauguration of the Yaba flyover on Thursday, saying, in the coming weeks, the Red Line trains would begin a pre-inauguration test run, as the construction races to completion. This, he said, would be followed by the commissioning and formal operations of the metro line in 2024.

The Yaba flyover – one of the four bridges being concurrently constructed by the Lagos State government along the Red Line rail corridor – is now open to traffic, creating a new commuting and connectivity experience in the Mainland part of the coastal state.

The flyover serves as an alternative route to access Ebute Metta, Oyingbo, Yaba and Surulere. The overpass bridge also eliminates pedestrian and vehicular interference on the rail tracks, significantly reducing the risk of accidents and collisions between trains and vehicles.

Inaugurating the bridge, Sanwo-Olu said the event marked the beginning of the completion phase of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line. He said that the delivery of the infrastructure bore testament to his administration’s resolve to develop and proffer sustainable solutions to transportation challenges facing the state.

He noted that the remaining overpasses at Ikeja, Mushin, and Oyingbo were at their completion stages, and they would be opened to traffic before the end of December 2023.

“Today, we are witnessing another leap in the fulfillment of our promise under the traffic management and transportation pillar of our development agenda. Three years ago, we undertook the task of constructing four bridges across rail lines between Oyingbo and Ikeja, with the objective of bringing relief to our teeming residents by reducing congestion and improving travel time as well as the cost of commuting. Over the years, we recorded avoidable fatal accidents on railway crossings, most of the time due to human errors.

“Today, we are formally inaugurating a key component of the infrastructure projects initiated to bring about traffic improvement and solutions to the challenges encountered. This event is, therefore, significant because it signifies the completion phase of the Red Line project. Before the end of the year, other overpass bridges at Ikeja, Mushin, and Oyingbo would be commissioned and there would be no more occurrence of train-vehicle accidents at these locations.”

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Oluwaseun Osiyemi, the commissioner for transportation, said the Lagos Strategic Transport Master Plan (STMP) was designed to provide 25 transport imperatives, which include the creation of multiple transport choices for residents, the introduction of the integrated transport system, making the transit system attractive, convenient, affordable and accessible, reducing urban transportation-induced emissions.