The Lagos Blue Rail Line’s initial phase was opened on Tuesday by the president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retired).
This occurred while he rode on a first-ever ride with other top government officials from Marina Station to National Theatre Station.
President Buhari inaugurates Phase 1 of the Lagos Blue Rail Line and rides a train, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by Femi Adesina, Special Advisor to the President on Media and Publicity.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State, said in a speech at the occasion that the Line would carry roughly 25,000 passengers each hour, cutting travel times, enhancing the lives of Lagos residents, and making the state one of the most resilient megacities in Africa.
He added that the piece of infrastructure will position Lagos to compete favourably with other megacities globally.
The governor said, “This iconic Marina Station would be the largest and busiest in Africa. It has the capacity to process about 450 passengers per minute, meaning that in an hour this station can process about 25,000 passengers.”
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Sanwo-Olu also hinted that he would invite the President again to Lagos to commission the Red Line, which he described as a bigger rail corridor project compared with the Blue Rail Line.
The Lagos Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, said the Blue Line project owed its origin to the current presidential candidate of the APC and one-time Lagos Governor, Bola Tinubu.
According to him, Tinubu envisioned and laid the foundation for the project as governor.
He noted that the master plan has six rail lines and one monorail, 14 Bus Rapid Transit corridors, over 20 water routes, and several major roads.
“Talking about the Blue line without making a reference to the ground-breaking contributions of the presidential candidate of our great party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is like talking about the beach without the ocean.
“A visionary leader, Asiwaju Tinubu, pioneered the idea of the Lagos Blue Line and many other revolutionary initiatives.
“The Tinubu administration developed the Strategic Transport Master Plan\, which laid out the foundation for a network of robust and modern transport infrastructure befitting a 21st century City-State, such as ours,” Hamzat said.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun, said the completion of Phase 1 of the project is a demonstration of the harmony in the bilateral relations between Nigeria and the Asian Tiger.
Thereafter, Buhari boarded the train alongside the Lagos State Governor, his Deputy, members of the Federal and State Executive Councils, members of the Federal and State Legislative Assemblies, the President of China Civil Engineering Construction Company, Chen Sichang; and journalists, among others.
The President also witnessed the signing of the contract for the construction of the second phase of the Lagos Blue Rail Line by the Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Abimbola Akinajo, and the President of CCECC, Chen Sichang.
The first phase of the project executed by the State Government spans 13 kilometers.
It has five stations; Mile 2, Suru-Alaba, Orile Iganmu, National Theatre, and Marina.
Earlier, the President also inaugurated the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, after which he departed Lagos for Dakar, Senegal, to attend the high-level Dakar 2 Summit hosted by President Macky Sall of Senegal and the Chairperson of the African Union.
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