Lagos calling residents to come ride February-launched Red Line Rail for free
To sign up for a Red Line Rail test ride which is free, enthusiasts who love to call first dibs on anything new must fill out an online form marked “Red Line Test Run”.
Those Lagos residents whose fate in travel often limits them to transiting between Oyingbo, a predominantly coastal community and Agbado near the border to Ogun State, now have a limited opening to test-run how their commuting lives would be, wherever their locations, eventually when the Red Line Rail enters full service. An invitation by the city’s specialised transport service yesterday welcomes curious, ease-seeking riders to register their interest.
It has been six months since President Bola Tinubu the pioneer commissioned the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line. Back to the historic day on 29 February 2024, the main linking roads leading to the Ikeja Train Station witnessed roadblocks by state security agents to guarantee control of the environment.
Around the Ikeja metropolis during the time, hardship consistent with the costly energy price of petrol and diesel was freshly setting in and people were seriously looking for relief.
Already, they have seen the Blue Line although only a 13-kilometre stretch of the service – from Marina to Mile 2 and back – is ready. The LRMT, second out of the six rail lines drafted in the city’s multimodal transport master plan is serving a different axis and will be beneficial to not just super active Lagosians, but their nearby neighbours in Ogun will also enjoy.
Just the first phase has been completed though and it covers 27 kilometres of a railroad which is the Oyingbo to Agbado route.
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To sign up for a Red Line Rail test ride which is free, enthusiasts who love to call first dibs on anything new must fill out an online form marked “Red Line Test Run” which asks for information like full name, email address, phone number, the station prospective passengers want to board from and whether they want to ride in the morning or board towards late afternoon.
LAMATA touching broadly on this subject has said that starting today the Red Line system will interact with non-fee-paying passengers in organised groups to collect feedback before the commencement of commercial operations.
Whichever social handle pictured shows that Lagosians are happy about the new development even if it is only preparatory and somewhat exclusive. It is the dream of a full-fledged smart city materialising and they want this to continue. Please invite me. I want to have a feel of the good work [the] Lagos State government is doing with my tax, reads a tweet by Machala Bigshey!
Please invite me…I want to have a feel of the good work Lagos State government is doing with my tax.
Thank you @jidesanwoolu for bringing the Lagos of our dream to reality.
Ipega ipile Eko, ajose WA ni o.
— Machala Bigshey! (@oluwavieraa) August 27, 2024
Accessibility and tech inclusivity are crucial topics to Ashogbon Abraham who is asking: Please can we also have an application for the train schedule for Android and iOS? Improvements are certain to keep coming. In the meantime, two megacity rail lines are here and there are four more to go.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
