UPDATED: PHOTOS: Sanwo-Olu Flags Off Commercial Operations Of Lagos Blue Line Rail

The Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has flagged off commercial operations of the Blue Line rail.

The governor who arrived at Marina train station at about 9:55 a.m., led passengers to the train for boarding.

While the train was heading to Mile 2, the governor who served as the Head of the Train Operations, helped in announcing arrival at each of the rail stations.

The train took off from the Marina station at about 9:15 a.m. and arrived at Mile 2 at exactly 9:45 a.m. It returned back to Marina at exactly 10:13 a.m.

Speaking to journalists after the flag-off at the Marina Station, Sanwo-Olu urged Lagosians to take ownership of the project and warned against pedestrian crossing of the rail tracks, noting that they are electrified.

He said: “About 800 of us have just completed the first commercial journey on the Blue Line. I think we all had a wonderful experience this morning. I am extremely excited about the work that LAMATA and all other stakeholders have done to ensure that we can keep our commitment to start this operation on the 4th of September, 2023.

“I am dressed as the Head of the Train Operators to ensure that simple safety and security procedures are kept throughout the journey. All of these very simple safety and security tips were complied with during and throughout the journey.

“The LASRRA (Lagos State Residents Registration Agency) card, which is our state’s citizens identity card, can also be used on the train. So I want to employ all of you, especially students to go and get your LASRRA cards because you can use them to travel on the train.

“On the Cowry Card, we have almost 4 million citizens that have the Cowry cards already and the cards can be used on the train, on our buses, BRT and also on the ferry service. So, let us go out there and get our Cowry card and top it up so that we can enjoy our integrated urban mass transportation system that we have talked about.”

Speaking with THE WHISTLER after the flag-off, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Engr. Oluwole Sotire, said that by his calculation, the number of passengers the train moved to and fro during the trip equates to about 50 Danfo (yellow) buses.

Sotire stated that the Blue Line rail will help to reduce vehicular traffic in the state, adding that it will also save time and add value to the people.

“I did my own calculation and I found out that it’s about 50 Danfo buses. Imagine you’re taking 50 off that route at that time,” Sotire said.

“That’s about 800 people within 20 minutes to Mile 2. Of course, if Danfo buses were going to take that number of people, not only would you use about 50 (buses), but it’s going to be for a longer period of time. You can imagine what we’re saving in terms of time, the value the Lagos State citizens will be getting.”

The Blue Line rail, which spans 13km, has five stations. The stations include Marina, National Theatre, Iganmu, Alaba, and Mile 2.

The train stopped for only about 90 seconds at each station.

A full Journey from Marina to Mile 2 is supposed to cost N750, while zonal fares are between N400 and N500 (for people not making the complete full trip).

However, with the transportation palliative announced by the governor in July, passengers paid 50 percent of the current fares.

For the first four weeks, the rain will run only twelve trips with the locomotive system. And after one month, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) will commence electric-powered train operation with 76 trips, with an estimated passengers between 150,000 or 175,000, from 5.30am to 11pm on a daily basis.

Present at the flag-off were the the Secretary to the state government, Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin; the state Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, and other key government functionaries.