Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, fulfilled his promise as he took the inaugural commercial ride of the Blue Line Rail Mass Transit from Marina to Mile 2 and back, amidst excitement.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, being the first passenger at the iconic Marina Station of the Blue Line Rail, was accompanied by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Kadir Obafemi Hamzat; Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin; and former Deputy Governor Femi Pedro, among others.
They boarded the train around 9.07 a.m. from the first coach and walked to the seventh coach, taking it upon himself to be the ride manager, as he explained the requirements to board the train to the people.
Other dignitaries that accompanied Governor Sanwo-Olu were former Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji; Senator Musiliu Obanikoro; the wife of the governor, Mrs. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu; Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi; Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa; government officials and party leaders, among others.
The ride from the Marina station to Mile 2 took between 17 and 20 minutes, with 90 seconds spent at each station before reaching the final destination.
Speaking to journalists at the Marina Station, Governor Sanwo-Olu, who disclosed that a total of 800 passengers were on the train during the trip, urged Lagosians to take ownership of the project, even as he warned pedestrians against crossing the rail tracks, saying that they were electrified.
“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 September 4, 2023.
“I am dressed as the Head of the Train Operators to ensure that simple safety and security procedures are followed throughout the journey. All of these very simple safety and security tips were followed 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 encourage 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,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu commended the first Governor of Lagos State in the Fourth Republic and now President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for putting in place the transportation master plan in the state.
He equally commended the leaders and the people who had kept faith in the modern Lagos that is in place today.
“I want to commend all of our leaders and the people who have kept faith in the modern Lagos that we have today. But more importantly, I think it is important for us to acknowledge the great work that our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the first Governor of Lagos State in the current dispensation, did by starting the vision of the Lagos State Urban Mass Transportation System with the creation of LAMATA.
“It was from that master plan that we have the train infrastructure, the road master plan infrastructure, and all other deliverables that we are seeing today.
“So we need to thank him and acknowledge all the great work he has done in Lagos. God will give him the opportunity to also do it bigger for Nigeria,” the governor said.
On the Red Line Rail, Governor Sanwo-Olu said the project, which is 96 per cent complete, would be commissioned by President Tinubu before the end of the year, adding that the various stations and bridges constructed for the Red Line Rail would be commissioned starting at the end of the month.
He said: “The Red Line currently is about 95–96 per cent, and if it doesn’t get to 100 per cent, we won’t commission it. But we are certain that before the end of the year, we will also commission the Red Line.
“By the end of this month or the first week in October, we will start commissioning the bridges: Ikeja Along Bridge, Yaba Bridge, Ebute-Metta Bridge, Mushin Bridge, Ayoola Coker, and all the other bridges.
“We will start opening the bridges for vehicular movements, then we will start the commissioning of the various stations, from Oyingbo Station to Yaba to Mushin, Ikeja to Agege, and to Iju. We will commission all the stations, and then we will have a final movement, which I hope Mr. President will come to help us do before the end of the year,” he stated.
In his remark, the Managing Director of the Lagos State Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Engr. Abimbola Akinajo said that from tomorrow, Tuesday, September 5, partial passenger operations would start from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. for Morning Peak, while Afternoon Peak would commence from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
According to her, these operations will start with 12 trips for two weeks and will later be increased to 76 trips per day.
Some of the passengers at the train stations commended the Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led government for the laudable project, saying the Blue Line rail was a relief for residents.
A passenger, who identified himself as Mr Gbenga Adeleye, described the ride as a welcome development and a relief for residents after a long delay in the project, which he said had long been overdue.
He commended the state government for the laudable project and further described the rail system as safe, realisable, and “less time-consuming because you can arrive at your destination at a particular time.”
“This is a welcome development and a relief for residents after a long delay in the project, which has long been overdue.
“It is safe, realisable, and less time-consuming because you can arrive at your destination at a particular time.
“My advice to the government is to ensure a good maintenance culture for sustainability,” he said.
Also speaking, another passenger, Olaide Gold, said it was a different ball game, recalling that she grew up knowing about the locomotive train and describing the rail project as one of the best that made “the journey pleasurable, and it took very little time to cover a long distance because no gridlock is experienced.”
“We are using the same Cowry Card for the BRT and other transportation systems, and it is affordable,” she said.
The Blue Line Rail project was constructed by the Lagos State Government and supervised by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) as part of the development and improvement of the intermodal transport system in the state.
The rail line project started during the administration of former Governor Babatunde Fashola, but the first phase, 13km (Marina to Mile 2) on the Lagos-Badagry corridor, was completed by Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.
The Blue Line Rail was commissioned in January 2023 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
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