Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced that the state government will on Saturday and Sunday shut down the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Blue Line operations on Saturday and Sunday to enable authorities to switch to electricity.
Announcing this development in a statement made available on his official X handle, Mr Sanwo-Olu detailed that the rail service will run on Saturday morning but will be shut down for the entire Sunday to enable it switch to electricity.
Mr Sanwo-Olu explained that the development followed plans of the state government to increase the rail trip from 12 to 54.
He further detailed that the momentary pause was to ensure the safety of passengers.
To make this transition, we’ll need to shut down train services on Saturday, October 14 after the morning peak service and for the entire day on Sunday, October 15, for the switch to electricity. This momentary pause is to ensure that your safety is our top priority,” a tweet by Mr Sanwo-Olu read.
The governor further reassured the people of the state that stopping passenger operations to implement significant improvements was a practice that was supported worldwide.
In support of the temporary halt to operations, Mr. Sanwo-Olu disclosed that his administration intended to increase the number of people transported daily from 80,000 to over 150,000 between Marina and Mile 2 in the upcoming months.
News About Nigeria recalls that the Mr Sanwo-Olu-led government in September launched the Blue Line rail operations.
With the express purpose of moving the state away from its well-known heavy dependence on a single form of transport, the Blue Rail Line project was designed as an inventive intra-city commuter route.
