LASG unveils new coaches to double operations on Blue Rail Line

• Says travel time, cost of trips to reduce by 50%
• Hails Tinubu for support as it hands over three trains of 12 coaches to LAMATA
• NRC extends special train operations till tomorrow

Lagos State Government has said that the journey time on the Lagos Blue rail line from Marina to Mile 2, which is 18 minutes currently, will now take about nine to 10 minutes to complete alongside reduced fare.

The state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said this, yesterday while handing over the newly imported three trains of 12 coaches to the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

Sanwo-Olu said that with the new coaches that would be deployed on the train tracks soon, commuting along the blue rail line would be faster as the journey is likely to reduce by 50 per cent of what it takes currently.

He added that the number of daily trips would also increase and would be worked out by LAMATA.

“We are doubling the capacity that we already have on the blue rail line, and as a result, there will be a reduction in journey time, aside from that, it will be reliable and predictable. If it takes about 20 minutes to complete the journey, now it is about 10 minutes, which is what is desirable for any intra-city train,” he said.

The governor, who thanked President Bola Tinubu for the support, including the funding that helped the state government to embark on procuring the train of coaches, further said that with the new coaches, commuters who would have relied on buses would now use the train service because it would be quicker and faster.

Sanwo-Olu disclosed that before the end of the year, a new set of coaches would arrive for the Red Rail Line, revealing that the coaches would be bigger and slicker than the ones being used.

He, therefore, implored journalists to come around to see when the trains are being lifted on the track.

The governor, however, informed LAMATA and the Chinese Construction Engineering Company (CCEC) to ensure that when the trains are being laid on the tracks, it should not disrupt the current train operations.

IN another development, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has said that it will operate additional special train services across its major standard gauge corridors – Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kaduna – today and tomorrow respectively.

Managing Director of the NRC, Dr Kayode Opeifa, disclosed this, at the weekend, in Lagos, in a statement signed by the Acting Deputy Director, Public Relations, of the NRC, Callistus Unyimadu.

Opeifa said that the extension was in response to an exceptional surge in passengers’ turnout during earlier special services in celebration of the Eid-el-Kabir.

The NRC, while advising all passengers to arrive early for security screening and boarding as train departure would be strictly on schedule, also advised the passengers to complete their online bookings in advance.

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