Commercial operations have begun on the Lagos-Ibadan rail line, the Federal Government has said.
This was disclosed by the Special Assistant to President Buhari on Digital and New Media, Mr. Tolu Ogunlesi in a statement via his official Twitter account.
Mr. Ogunlesi explained in the statement that the rail line will embark on only one return trip daily, as the departure for Ibadan from Lagos will be at 8 am, while that for Lagos from Ibadan will be at 4 pm, Nairametrics reports.
He added that the rail line would not operate at capacity during the first phase of commercial operations which starts today.
Mr. Tolu Ogunlesi in the statement said, “Commercial operations started on the new LagosIbadanRail line this morning. For now, according to the NRC, only one return trip daily, leaving Ibadan at 8 am for Lagos and leaving Lagos for Ibadan at 4pm.
“Speed and capacity will increase with time. Keep in mind there’s still some construction work ongoing. It likely won’t hit maximum speeds until the line fencing is completed. Sadly because of some Lagosians’ love for rail-line merchandising.”
What you should know
- The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, last week, while speaking in Abuja at the inauguration of elected members of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIoTA), disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari will commission the newly constructed Lagos-Ibadan rail line by January 2021.
- However, Mr. Amaechi said the $1.6 billion rail project has been delivered and its usage would commence before the official commissioning in January next year.
- He explained that the fare which is at par with that of the Kaduna route is a transfer cost for the delivery cost of the project, which is fair.
Speed and capacity will increase with time. Keep in mind there’s still some construction work ongoing (Station buildings etc).
— tolu ogunlesi (@toluogunlesi) December 7, 2020
Also likely won’t hit maximum speeds until the line fencing is completed. (Sadly because of some Lagosians’ love for rail-line merchandising ????).
The launch train for #LagosIbadanRail commercial operations left Ibadan at 0800hrs this morning, arrived Abeokuta 0858, and departed Abeokuta 0903. It has just arrived Ebute Metta, Lagos, at 1040hrs.
— tolu ogunlesi (@toluogunlesi) December 7, 2020
For now it’s doing 30-40km/hr in Lagos metropolis (see previous tweet).
