With pomp and circumstance, the commencement of commercial operations of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line was unveiled on Monday, September 4, 2023.
The vision of Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is worthy of commendation. It should be sustained to make the desired positive impact on reducing traffic congestion on the ever-busy Lagos roads as well as to facilitate tourism in the commercial hub of the West African Sub-region.
It would be recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari on January 24, 2023, inaugurated the first phase of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line, which runs from Marina to Mile 2. The historic take-off also witnessed the signing of the commencement of Phase 2 of the project from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko.
Of significance is that the Blue Line, which is part of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit, will run 27.5 km from Marina to Okokomaiko, with 13 stations and an end-to-end journey time of 35 minutes. According to the Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Mrs. Abimbola Akinajo, partial passenger operations will be from 6:30am to 10am for the morning peak and the afternoon peak from 4pm to 9:30pm. She added that the operations would start with 12 trips for two weeks, which would later be increased to 76 trips per day.
Although the train is electric, it would run on locomotive for the first four weeks of operation to allow the electric system to come up fully and sync properly with the physical infrastructure. The plan is to allow passengers to get familiar with the rail system. She said despite the train running on locomotive for the first four weeks, the tracks would remain energized so that passengers were not allowed to cross them.
The LAMATA boss said that about 150,000 passengers were expected to board the train daily. The full length of the train trip from Marina to Mile 2, according to Akinajo, would cost N750 but noted that the 50 per cent discount announced by Governor Sanwo-Olu on all Lagos public transportation rides would also apply to the train ride. Zonal fares would be between N400 and N500 for people not making the complete full trip. Worthy of note is that passengers can only access the service with their cowry cards, noting that cash or paper tickets would not be accepted.
Furthermore, she warned against eating and drinking on the train and opined that adequate security had been put in place for the security of lives and property, noting that anyone with criminal intent would be arrested and handed over to the police as there would be about 30 cameras along the tracks.
Notable too is the assurance of the safety measures put in place because there are over 300 CCTV cameras across the whole Blue Line and over 30 cameras monitoring the tracks alone. Command and Control centres are also available in all stations. Plain clothes security agents and officers of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps will ride with passengers at all times. “Any altercation on the train will not be tolerated. Vandalism also will not be tolerated,” she also stated.
Going forward, sustained public enlightenment and periodic review of the operations to correct all the anomalies will be necessary to guide the potential travellers using the Blue Line System.
It should be noted that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, soon after his assumption of office on May 29, 2019, expressed his determination and commitment to bring the Blue and Red Line projects to completion during his first term in office. Despite the little delay, it is heart-warming that the project has taken off at this point in time. Therefore, we urge all hands on to be on deck to keep the operations seamless.
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