The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has assured Nigerians that by April next year, the Federal Government would completely deliver Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line.
He revealed this as he spoke to newsmen at the end of the project inspection tour onboard the train from Iju to Ibadan.
Mr Rotimi Amaechi, who said that the Lagos axis of the project had been tough because of urbanization, said the contractor had made tremendous progress in the construction of stations.
His words, “There is huge improvement compared to the last time we came. We will all agree that there is a huge improvement.
“The contractor has assured us that by the 20th of December when we gather for next inspection, the tracks will get here (Omi Adio Station) in Ibadan, Oyo State.
“By then the focus will no longer be on the tracks, but on the completion of the stations, then communications and signalling. Once we get communications and signalling complete, we are out of Lagos-Ibadan.
“We have told you we will be out of this place (Lagos-Ibadan Standard gauge rail line) latest April. (2020). We are no longer giving ourselves the time, the contractor now gives us the time.”
“Most people have forgotten there are two contracts. The first contract is from Ebute-Metta to Ibadan.
“Then I came up with the idea that you don’t have railways that don’t end up in the seaport. That is the extension that is a little bit challenged now.
“They (contractor) can actually get to Ebute-Metta in the next one month. Getting to Ebute-Metta without getting to Apapa, we have not achieved much to clear the Apapa gridlock.
“The only easy way to clear the Apapa gridlock is to get the tracks into the seaport. By this, cargoes will just be loaded into wagons and taken up to Ibadan.”
“We will try and still keep to the 30th of November to start test running.
“We may not have enough coaches and locomotives for everybody but as many, as we can be taken, we will until the 20 locomotives that we ordered arrive.
“I hope they will arrive either by the end of December or second week in January.”
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