To fulfill his election campaign promises, and to reduce financial burden on the masses, the Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday kicked off commercial operations on the Red Rail Line.
The Governor said the train would provide jobs to thousands of Lagosians.
“Its a mass transportation. We cannot fill up the space inside the train with people because we need to keep the inside as free as possible.
“There will be jobs for people. There are people that will be working to keep the inside clean and doing other things,” he noted.
The train will run from Oyingbo to Agbado, a border community to Ogun State. It is expected to convey 500,000 passengers daily.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, who was the chief operator for the inaugural ride, announced that the full ride will take about one hour seven minutes, with a three-minute stop at each of Yaba, Mushin, Oshodi, Ikeja, Agege and Iju stations before finally arriving at the Agbado Station.
The ride started at 5:20pm with the first stop-over at Yaba lasting seven minutes, and stopped for three minutes for passengers to alight.
From Yaba, the train stopped at Mushin, Oshodi and arrived Ikeja at 5:55pm. From Ikeja, it moved to Agege and Iju stations before it ended at Agbado at 6:27pm.
Governor Sanwo-Olu urged Lagosians to keep the train safe and clean by not vandalising it.
Speaking further the governor said, “The people have the responsibility to keep it safe and clean. The train is for the people so they should avoid vandalising it.”
He also said more new coaches for the blue line and red line will arrive next year.
The train ride will cost N1,500 from Oyingbo to Agbado, Iju to Agege costs N500. Daily operations begin at 06:17am and close by 9:17pm.