In what was described as an historic moment, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has granted the Lagos State government operational licences to run its two completed mass transit rail lines, the Blue and Red lines.
This would be the first time the corporation would grant a licence to another entity or a sub-national government to operate railway services.
Daily Trust reports that the operation of railway was on the exclusive list until March 17, 2023 when the Muhammadu Buhari-led government signed a bill, which removed railway operations from exclusive list to the concurrent list, enabling sub-national governments to develop and operate railways with the NRC still serving as regulator.
The Lagos State government has developed two metro lines including Blue Line and Red Line out of the eight lines developed by the state.
The state government through the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) is set to commence commercial operations on the Red Line, which links Oyingbo to Agbado.
Presenting the licence to LAMATA on Friday, Managing Director of the NRC Engr. Fidet Okhiria, said it was the first time since the Nigerian railway came into being in 1912 that another entity would operate train services in the country.
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 to Managing Director of LAMATA, Engr. Abimbola Akinajo, on behalf of the Lagos State government.
LAMATA in a statement said, “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.
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.
