Long-awaited Lagos Blue Line Train Rail Begins Operation
Following the announcement by the Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Mrs Abimbola Akinajo, on Thursday that the Lagos Blue Line Rail would commence commercial operation today.
The first passengers on board includes the Lagos state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who took the inaugural commercial ride of the Blue Line Rail Mass Transit.
The Governor boarded the train around 9.07am from the first coach and walked to the seventh coach.
He also took it upon himself to be the ride manager, taking time to explain the requirements to board the train to the people.
The train, which conveyed other excited passengers, including journalists, on the maiden trip, passed through Marina to Iganmu, to Alaba, before arriving at Mile 2.
However, LAMATA will begin the electric-powered train operation with 76 trips. An estimated passenger capacity between 150,000 and 175,000 are expected to take rides from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
The train service will operate in the morning between 6:30, 7:36, and 8:42 a.m. and in the evening phases, with ongoing tests during the day to ensure the trains are in proper condition.
The Blue Line Train project is a 27-kilometre rail route designed to run from Okokomaiko eastwards to Mile 2 and then proceed to Marina via Ijora.
The five stations have been completed, with 13km of the rail tracks laid in the first phase. Phase 1 of the Blue Line is 13 km long with five stations: Marina-National Theatre- Orile-Suru-Alaba-Mile 2, while Phase 2 will extend the line to 27km.
Abimbola Akinajo, the Managing Director of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), for the first month, the train would run only 12 trips with the locomotive system.
She noted that the reason is that there are few finishings to be done but soon to go electric.
