By Debo Akinola
History was made in the country at the weekend as the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) granted the Lagos State Government operational licences to run its two completed mass transit rail lines, the Blue and Red lines on the Lagos Mass Rail Transit.
This is coming 72 hours before the official flag-off of passenger operations on the state’s second colour-coded line, the Red Line, which is a 27km first phase of the Red Line, which will run from Oyingbo to Agbado.
Managing Director of the NRC Engr. Fidet Okhiria, who handed the certificate over said it was the first time since the Nigerian railway came into being in 1912, that another entity outside the Federal Government, would operate train services in the country.
The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) said in a statement via its official X (formerly Twitter) account that the NRC granted a three-year operational licence to the Blue Line and a six-month temporary licence to the Red Line.
The licences were officially handed over by the NRC MD, Okhiria, to LAMATA’s MD, Engr. Abimbola Akinajo, on behalf of the Lagos State Government.
LAMATA stated, “A significant milestone in Nigerian railway transportation has been recorded by the Lagos State Government as the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) issued operational licences for Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Blue and Red Lines.”
It added, “The NRC granted a three-year operational licence for the Blue Line and a temporary six-month licence for the Red Line.“
The statement noted that the licences were issued following nearly three years of assessment of the Blue Line’s infrastructure and operations, along with testing the pre-operational capacity of the Red Line.
The two lines’ permanent approval would only come after further assessments.
Okhiria commended LAMATA’s efforts in making the mass rail transit projects a reality.
He expressed confidence in the company’s ability to drive the project to success.