A general Red Line Train at the Ikeja train station during its inaguration by the Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on February 29, 2024. – Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday launched a new train line in Lagos, the country’s most populous city, which is struggling with poor public transport and huge traffic jams. The Red Line is the second urban rail link in Nigeria’s economic capital and officials say it will eventually carry around 500,000 passengers a day. (Photo by Samuel Alabi / AFP)
President Bola Tinubu has commissioned the Red Line Rail Project in Lagos, the country’s economic capital, which is struggling with poor public transport and huge traffic jams as a result of its population.
The Red Line, an intra-state rail service aimed at improving transportation within the city, spans 37 kilometres.
The red line will share the right-of-way with the Lagos-Kano Standard Gauge Railway. The route will initially run from Agbado in Ogun State to Oyingbo in Lagos, with notable stations including Agbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba, and Oyingbo.
To ensure the smooth operation of the train service, 10 vehicular overpasses and pedestrian bridges have been constructed.
Once operational, it is expected to facilitate 37 trips daily, accommodating approximately 500,000 passengers.
A passenger looks on while onboard the Red Line train during its inauguration by Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Ikeja train station in Lagos on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Alabi / AFP)
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (3rd L) arrives at the Ikeja Train Station to board the Red Line Train during its inauguration in Lagos on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Alabi / AFP)
Guests and dignitaries are seen onboard the Red Line Train at the Ikeja train station during its inauguration by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Alabi / AFP)
A general view of guests and dignitaries arriving to board the Red Line Train at the Ikeja train station during its inauguration by the Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Alabi / AFP)
Tinubu said the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority had “demonstrated that agencies of government can be made to succeed and work for the people.”
“There’s more work to be done,” he said, warning there was “no room for complacency.”
The Lagos state government is seeking to reduce travel time and enhance economic productivity with the red line.
More public train, bus and ferry links are considered vital to curb the lagoon-side city’s heaving traffic.
The Red Line joins the Blue Line, which opened in September 2023 and can carry up to 250,000 people a day from Marina on Lagos Island to the Mile 2 area on the mainland.
The two lines are set to be part of a vast citywide transit network, with another five train lines due to open over the next few years.
The rail scheme was agreed in the early 2000s when Tinubu was governor of Lagos state, but construction did not begin until later.
On Thursday, Lagos’s mayor said work on the Green and Purple lines had already begun.
See photos, from the venue of the launch below:
Arrival of guests (Photos by Dare Idowu)
Arrival of guests (Photo by Dare Idowu)
A general Red Line Train at the Ikeja train station during its inauguration by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Alabi / AFP)
A general view of the Ikeja Train Station in Lagos on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Alabi / AFP)
A train worker inspects the Red Line train during its inauguration by Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Ikeja train station in Lagos on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Alabi / AFP)
A train worker looks on aboard the Red Line train during its inauguration by Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Ikeja train station in Lagos on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Alabi / AFP)
A general view of the Ikeja train station during the Red Line train inaguration by the Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Alabi / AFP)
A train worker inspects the Red Line train during its inauguration by Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Ikeja train station in Lagos on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Alabi / AFP)
