The Nigeria Railway Corporation has issued operational licences for the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue and Red Lines.

In a post on X by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority on Saturday, three years licence was issued for the Blue rail while a temporary six-month licence was granted for the Red line. 

It read, “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 NRC granted a three-year operational licence for the Blue Line and a temporary six-month licence for the Red Line.”

The licences were issued after almost three years of successful assessment period of the infrastructure and operation of the Blue Line and testing of the pre-operational capacity of the Red Line. 

It stated, “The temporary licence for the Red Line will be converted to a permanent licence after further assessment of its full passenger operations.’’

Stating that it was the first time the NRC permitted another entity to operate trains in the country, the Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, while commending LAMATA’s efforts to secure the licences, stressed the cooperation desired for the tracks to be occupied and expressed confidence in the success of LAMATA.

MD of LAMATA, Abimbola Akinajo, who received the licences on behalf of the state government, commended the NRC team for their professionalism and intellectual engagement throughout the process.

The statement noted that the issuance of the licences was a step forward in developing the state’s rail transportation system and signified a positive collaboration between LAMATA and the NRC.

Present at the groundbreaking event were the management and staff of the NRC, LAMATA, and other stakeholders in the nation’s transportation sector.