40 years after Buhari's suspension, Lagos light rail enters service

The Lagos Rail Transit System, Blue Line, has finally begun its long-awaited commercial operations, 40 years after the idea of ​​a metro line was conceived for the state.

Lagos State Governor Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu became the first passenger to board the train on its maiden voyage as operations began on Monday.

The Governor boarded the train from the Marina terminal en route to Mile 2 and made a round trip from Mile 2 to Marina.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Ms. Abimbola Akinajo, had announced on Thursday that the Lagos Blue Line would begin commercial operations on Monday, September 4.

Akinajo added that Sanwo-Olu would be the first passenger on the maiden ride on the train.

The idea of ​​a metro line for Lagos State dates back to 1983, during the administration of the late Alhaji Lateef Jakande.

Jakande, who served as the state's first civilian governor, conceived and launched the vision for light rail in the state in 1983 with an expected delivery date of 1986.< /p>

At the time of design, all documentation had been completed and the contractor was ready to be mobilized to site.

However, the project had not yet started when the military coup led by Major General Muhammadu Buhari took place.

The project was abandoned at the time.

The railway network project was, however, inaugurated in 2003 by former governor Bola Tinubu, 20 years after its initial conception.

At its inauguration, the light rail project was color coded in different phases, including the Blue Line (from the Marina to Mile 2); Red Line (Agbado to Marina); Purple Line (acquired from Ojo); Yellow Line (Otta to Iddo); Brown Line (Mile 12 to Marina); Orange Line (bought from Marina) and Green Line (from Marina to Lekki).

Construction of the 27 kilometer blue line began under the administration of former Governor Babatunde Fashola.

The contract included the design and development of the railway infrastructure, while the construction was to be done in phases.

The first phase was from the Marina section to Mile 2 of the project, while the second phase was to include Mile 2 to Okokomaiko.

Former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who took office in 2015, promised the project would be delivered in 2016, but failed to deliver.

However, upon assuming office in 2019, Sanwo-Olu assured Lagosians that the project would be carried out by his administration.

Residents' hopes grew, however, when the first phase of the Blue Line was inaugurated by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2023.

Immediately after the inauguration, LAMATA announced that the blue line would be ready for commercial operation in March 2023. This date was then shifted twice until the start of commercial operations on Monday 4 September.

Sanwo-Olu, who expressed excitement at the start of Blue Line operations, said the project was a promise kept.

“I'm excited, everyone on this train is excited. And it's a promise made, a promise kept. We said we were going to start by the end of last quarter, but we also wanted it to coincide with our 100 days (in office). So this is part of our 100 day celebrations.

“Today is September 4, 2023, and we are thrilled that we can now start commercial operation; we can start a real passenger operation and you can see that all our citizens are on board. With our cowrie cards, we were able to board. We just left National Theater of Arts station now we are heading to Iganmu station. From Iganmu Station, we will head to Alaba Station and end at Mile 2 Station.

"We will all be disembarking at Mile 2 station as we will need to change platforms on the way back if we return to Marina station. And as you can see, everything is synchronized; it's timed. The number of seconds or minutes that we are going to stay at the station is not more than 90 seconds, which is one and a half minutes, because it is a mass movement. It has to move thousands and thousands of people on both routes," Sanwo-Olu said.

The Governor, who spoke in the presence of his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, and around 800 passengers who joined him on the maiden voyage on Monday, also assured Lagosians that the red line would be completed by the end of the year.

Sanwo-Olu said the red line was completed around 95-96 and will be unveiled soon.

"The red line is currently around 95 to 96 percent and if it doesn't reach 100 percent, we've won...