The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has granted Lagos a three-year operational license for the Blue Line and a six-month temporary license for the Red Line.
The licenses were officially handed over on Friday by NRC’s Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, to Engr. Mrs. Abimbola Akinajo, Managing Director of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), on behalf of the Lagos State Government.
LAMATA announced this in a statement on its official X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday, stating,
“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,” the statement read in part.
It added, “The NRC granted a three-year operational license for the Blue Line and a temporary six-month license for the Red Line.“
The statement noted that the licenses 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 approval for the Red Line comes just days before passenger operations are set to commence on its 27-kilometer first phase, from Oyingbo to Agbado, on October 15, with permanent approval pending further assessments.
Okhiria, in the statement, praised LAMATA’s efforts in securing the licenses, expressing confidence in their success and noting that this marks the first time another entity will operate trains in Nigeria.
