The Lagos State Government has taken delivery of three new trains comprising 24 coaches for the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line, a development expected to strengthen the service’s operational capacity along the Oyingbo (Ebute Metta) to Agbado corridor.
The arrival of the additional rolling stock was announced by Jubril Gawat, Senior Special Assistant on New Media to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a post on his official X account on Tuesday. According to Gawat, the trains were procured with the support of the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu, underscoring the cooperation between federal and state authorities in delivering transportation infrastructure. His post also confirmed that the offloading process had commenced.
The new train sets are expected to support more frequent trips and accommodate additional passengers along the corridor. However, they are yet to be officially unveiled or deployed for passenger operations, meaning their practical impact will depend on how they are eventually deployed and the frequency of services.
Delayed but delivered
The delivery follows an earlier announcement by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) in February 2026 that it planned to add three eight-coach train sets, totalling 24 coaches, to the Red Line fleet by the third quarter of the year. Kolawole Ojelabi, LAMATA’s Head of Corporate Communication, had said the additional trains would strengthen the existing fleet, improve service reliability and enhance passenger comfort along the Oyingbo–Agbado corridor.
The trains did not arrive within the projected third-quarter timeline. The state government confirmed their arrival and the start of the offloading process in November 2026. The additional rolling stock is also expected to form part of the authority’s longer-term strategy to improve capacity and service delivery.
Capacity concerns persist
The arrival comes amid concerns about the Red Line’s operational capacity and service frequency. Transport researcher Tonami Playman identified these as major constraints on the railway’s potential impact on traffic congestion in Lagos. In an exclusive interview with Nairametrics weeks before the latest train announcement, Playman said the Red Line was operating at a frequency of just five trains daily, which he considered inadequate for a metropolitan rail service expected to attract significant commuter traffic.
The figures compare with approximately 500,000 monthly passenger trips on the Blue Line and 100,000 on the Red Line. The additional trains are expected to increase the Red Line’s capacity, although their eventual impact will depend on how they are deployed and the frequency of services.
