The Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line System will finally commence operations on Monday, September 4, 2023, behind its earlier scheduled dates of March and August 2023.
The Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Mrs Abimbola Akinajo, made the announcement on Wednesday when she conducted newsmen on a guided ride and tour of the infrastructure at the Blue Line Terminal in Marina.
Akinajo disclosed that the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Sanwo-Olu, will take the inaugural ride at 9 a.m. on Monday, saying that “Mr. Governor will be our first passenger” before other passengers begin to ride.
She added that from Tuesday, September 5, partial passenger operations will start from 6.30 am to 10 am, for the morning peak; and 4 pm to 9.30pm for the evening peak.
She said, “The train would run 12 trips in two schedules for now – 6.30 am to 10 am (morning peak) and 4pm-9:30pm (evening peak). The train will also stop for 90 seconds at each station.
“It will run 76 trips, from 5.30 am – 11pm, when it becomes fully operational in four weeks.
“About 150,000-175,000 passengers are expected to board daily.”
Speaking on the fares, the LAMATA MD said a full-length trip from Marina to Mile 2 would cost N750, while zonal fares for passengers not making the complete trip would be between N400 and N500.
While noting that passengers will only access the train service using the Lagos Cowry, Akinajo stated that the transportation palliative of a 50 per cent discount on all state-owned transport systems announced by Governor Sanwo-Olu will also apply to the rail system. This means that the highest fare for the full trip will be N375 for as long as the palliative lasts.
On safety, the LAMATA boss disclosed that over 300 Close Circuit Television Cameras have been installed across the whole Blue Line Rail, with over 30 cameras monitoring the tracks alone.
Command and control centres are also available in all stations.
She added that plain cloth security agents and officers of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps will always ride with passengers, stressing that criminals will be arrested and handed over to the police.
She further stated that, although the train is electric, it will run on a locomotive system for the first four weeks of operations to allow the electric system to come up fully and sync properly with the physical infrastructure, adding that it will also allow passengers to get familiar with the system.
