Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday flagged off the commercial operations of the Lagos State Blue Line rail train service by riding on the maiden passenger operation from Marina Terminal to Mile-2 Station.
Sanwo-Olu was joined by dignitaries, which included his wife, Ibijoke; the deputy governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat; the Secretary to the state government, Mrs Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin; Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi; the Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa; government officials and party leaders, among others, to ride on the train from Marina to Mile 2.
The governor, who served as the Head of the Train Operations during the first commercial operations of the Blue Line rail boarded the train at exactly 9.10 am.
The ride from the Marina Terminal to Mile 2 took about 25 minutes, with a 90-second stoppage at each of the five stations before the final destination.
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Speaking to journalists at the Marina Station, Sanwo-Olu urged Lagosians to take ownership of the project and warned pedestrians against crossing the rail tracks because they were electrified.
He commended the former Lagos State governor and now President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for putting in place the transportation master plan in the state.
Speaking on the Red Line Rail, Sanwo-Olu said the project which is 96 per cent completed would be commissioned by the president before the end of the year, adding that the various stations and bridges constructed for the Red Line rail would be commissioned starting from the end of the month.
The Managing Director of the Lagos State Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Abimbola Akinajo, said partial passenger operations would start today from 6:30am to 10am for Morning Peak and 4pm to 9:30pm for Afternoon Peak.
He said the operations would start with 12 trips for two weeks, which would later be increased to 76 trips per day.
The Blue Line Rail project is constructed by the Lagos State government and supervised by LAMATA, as part of the development and improved intermodal transport system in the state.
The Blue Line Rail was commissioned in January 2023 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
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