PHOTOS: Lagos takes delivery of two train sets ahead of blue line project inauguration

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, says the state government has taken delivery of two new train sets for the first phase of the blue line rail project.

Sanwo-Olu disclosed this in a tweet on Monday.

The blue line project is one of the six rail lines and monorails prescribed for Lagos in the state’s strategic transport master plan (STMP). The construction has been divided into phases for ease of implementation and is expected to move more than 500,000 passengers when the entire line is completed.

The first phase is a 13-kilometer stretch from Marina to Mile 2 and has five stations at Mile 2, Suru-Alaba, Orile Iganmu, National Theatre and Marina. It is expected to move about 200,000 passengers daily.

“We have taken delivery of two new train sets for the blue line rail,’ the tweet reads.

“These passenger trains have been cleared at the port of entry, and have been moved to the National Theatre station where they have been lifted onto the elevated rail tracks.

“I am indeed glad to inform the good people of Lagos that with the arrival of these train sets, we’re on course with our plans to change the face of the rail transport system in Lagos state. A greater Lagos is indeed rising.”

Meanwhile, the latest development comes ahead of the project’s inauguration by President Muhammadu Buhari, slated for later in the month.

In January 2022, Sanwo-Olu said the state government had acquired three new trains for the blue line rail project.

He had said the state’s metro rail lines would begin operation before the end of 2022.

However, in December last year, Sanwo-Olu, announced the completion of the first phase of the blue line rail, adding that the project would be inaugurated in January 2023 and operations will begin in the same month.

Here are pictures of the new train sets.