Track laying for Lagos-Ibadan rail finally completed

The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) says it has completed the track laying work for Lagos-Ibadan railway.

The company said, in a tweet, that the track laying was completed on March 28.

A stunning victory! The track laying work on the main line for the Lagos-Ibadan railway has been completed at 12:08 pm, on March 28. This marks the fact the railway is getting one step closer to opening to traffic.#Nigeria #LagosIbadanRail pic.twitter.com/YE5nL6Ds7X

— CCECC (@CCECC8) March 31, 2020

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the standard gauge railway on March 7, 2017.

In January, Rotimi Amaechi, the minister of transportation, had said the April deadline fixed for the completion of the standard gauge rail line was no longer feasible.

“Today (Monday), Oyo state governor is accompanying us on the monthly inspection of work on the Lagos-Ibadan rail line. We are going the whole nine yards,” he said.

“From the mega station in Ebute Metta to Apapa and all the way to Ibadan. A large chunk of this rail line is in Oyo state.

“Looking at the state of work in Apapa, completing the project in April doesn’t seem feasible, especially the extension of the rail line to the seaport.”

Amaechi also blamed the COVID-19 outbreak for slowing down the work pace as contractors were stuck in China after a lockdown ordered by the Chinese government.

In November 2019, the federal government launched a free train service to test the work done.

The rail service between the two cities is expected to have 10 stations from 2020, and the trains will operate on a maximum speed of 150 km/h.