Starting from Monday, October 16, the Lagos State Government will ramp up train trips from 12 to 54.
By the beginning of next week, the tracks are expected to be energized, allowing the trains to run on electricity as planned. This enables the deployment of additional train sets for daily passenger operations.
Anticipating this surge, train services will operate exclusively during the morning peak on Saturday. Following this, there will be a temporary suspension of services from Saturday afternoon until the end of Sunday, October 15, to facilitate the transition to electricity.
The Lagos Rail Mass Transit, LRMT, Blue Line project that by the end of November, the number of train trips will rise to 74.
The Blue Line will run from Marina to Mile 2.
Abimbola Akinajo, an engineer and the Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, LAMATA, explained why the Blue Line will need to be suspended before being reopened.
“We need to suspend train operations during the transition to electricity for passenger safety and to ensure a secure testing process,” she is quoted as saying.
“Internationally, it’s common practice to halt passenger operations during significant changes like the one we’re implementing this weekend.”
“This switch will enable us to introduce more trips and accommodate a larger number of passengers.”
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had inaugurated the passenger operations of the first phase of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Blue Line on September 4. So far, over 80,000 passengers have been transported to date.
Projections indicate that daily passenger movement between Marina and Mile 2 in the upcoming months will exceed 150,000 individuals.
