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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Lagos State Government has increased the number of trips on the Lagos rail mass transit (LRMT) blue line from 54 to 72 per day.
The managing director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Abimbola Akinajo disclosed this in a statement, on Saturday.
She said the 72 trips per day will commence on August 12.
Akinajo also announced a 25 per cent reduction in the blue rail transport fare for off-peak periods, adding that the 25 per cent discount is for commuters travelling “within the off-peak period set at 10.00 am and 4.00 pm daily.”
However, the LAMATA boss said the current schedule for Sunday operations remains unchanged.
She said passengers can now travel between Marina and Mile 2 on the blue line route in about 18 minutes from the previous travel time of 25 minutes.
According to Akinajo, this means there would be a train every 18 minutes both ways, thus allowing commuters to plan their trips.
“The new train schedule is potentially expected to reduce journey times, encourage more riders to use the train system during off-peak periods and reduce transport spending,” she said.
Akinajo said the new timetables is available on LAMATA website, stations, and social media handles.
Recall that the blue rail line started operations on September 4, 2023, running 12 trips per day.
On October 11, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced that the state would temporarily shut down the blue rail line from October 14, 2023.
But the the train service resumed passenger operations days after with 54 trips.