The Lagos State Government has assured that its Rail Mass Transit Red Line is on course for the planned unveiling in March with all of its infrastructure nearing completion.
Giving an update in a video obtained by The PUNCH on Monday, the Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Mrs Abimbola Akinajo, said the agency was “confident and comfortable that we will meet the deadline that Mr Governor has given us.”
Akinajo said the tracks for the rail system were 95 per cent completed while the eight train stations being built as part of the Red Line infrastructure were “literally completed.”
“We are implementing eight stations and that is all the way from Agbado. We have a station at Agbado, we have a station in Iju, we have a station in Agege, we have a station in Ikeja, we have a station in Mushin, we have a station in Oshodi, Oyingbo and Yaba. Now, all those stations as a point of update are literally completed. We have most of them, except Yaba, 99.9 per cent completed.
“Yaba, at the moment, is about 89 per cent completed. Now, from where we’re sitting, that means that we are confident and comfortable that we will meet the deadline that Mr Governor has given us. In terms of the track work, we’re done. If you remember, this is the one line that we’re sharing with the NRC tracks,” she said.
The LAMATA MD added that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had procured two sets of trains for the Red Line operations, saying, “So, we’re very confident that it will be completed by the first quarter of 2024.
“Now for us, if you will also remember, Mr Governor had procured two sets of trains. Those will be ready for the testing and operations that will start immediately after the unveiling of the rail system.
“So, we expect that to start come the beginning of March, the middle of March and that will allow us to begin to test and also to work the interfaces between NRC.”
The PUNCH reports that Sanwo-Olu had said that President Bola Tinubu would unveil the first phase of the Lagos Red Line rail in the first quarter of 2024.
