Lagos’s Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu rode the Lagos Blue Line rail for the first time on Monday as service got underway.
The governor took the ride from the Marina station to Mile 2 around 9:00 a.m. Before he boarded the train, Sanwo-Olu explained to his co-passengers the requirements to board the train.
In addition to his wife, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Sanwo-Olu was accompanied by several other government representatives, including Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, former Speaker of the House of Assembly Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, Secretary to the State Government Mrs. Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, and former Deputy Governor Femi Pedro.
According to the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), for the first month, the train would run only 12 trips with the locomotive system.
With the flag-off passenger operations of the blue line today, commuting has been made easy , affordable and fast for Lagosians. Check previous posts for the time table for the week. #LagosOnTrack pic.twitter.com/oHgkHgvv1Z
— Lagos MetropolitanArea Transport Authority LAMATA (@MetroLagos) September 4, 2023
LAMATA Managing Director Abimbola Akinajo noted, however, that the agency 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.
Earlier, the governor had asked Lagosians to take ownership of the rail tracks even as his government has put measures to protect the facility.
โThere are over 300 CCTV cameras across the entire rail with over 30 cameras monitoring the tracks alone, with command and control centers available in all stations along the track. Lagos, this is your project,โ he added.
โTake ownership and treat it with decency as you would treat anything that belongs to you. Any altercation or disturbance on the train will NOT be tolerated. It goes without saying that vandalism also will NOT be tolerated.โ
