The Lagos State Government has disclosed that the Red and Blue Rails would kick off operations either in the last quarter of 2022 or the first quarter of 2023.
This was shared by the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu while speaking with journalists after inspecting some of the ongoing projects in the city.
He said that the project would involve engineering students from institutions like the Lagos State University (LASU), the University of Lagos (UNILAG), and Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech), to give them real-time experience on the intricacies of rail construction.
Sanwo-Olu also expressed satisfaction at the number of Nigerians employed to construct the rails, noting his push for “skills transfer”.
He said, “We are still on track, last quarter of 2022 by the grace of God or first quarter 2023, you begin to see your trains moving on these two corridors.
“We are excited because of the number of Nigerians working here. I think here in Marina alone, we have over 1,000 workers. Part of the things we have been telling our contractors is that we need to have proper skills transfer.
“We will be working with LASU, UNILAG and Yabatech so our students of Engineering will have a feel of what rail construction is all about.
“Our contract will take them as interns so they will see how things are done in real-time when it comes to road, bridge and rail construction.
“There are few hiccups but we believe we will surmount them.
“We started our journey midway from the Ikeja iconic station where we saw the construction of the overpass which will ease vehicular movement.
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“Leaving Ikeja, we couldn’t take a detour into Mushin so we went straight to Yaba where we saw the overpass which will cross into Tejuoso. The station there is also going on as scheduled.
“From there we went to Ebute-Metta and saw the station and overpass, making it the third. It’s also advancing well. And you must know that the Red Line will terminate at Ebute-Metta but there will be an extension up to Iddo.
“After this, we crossed to the Blue Line. We have built a sea wall to preserve the water bed in that area. Work is also going on as scheduled.
“Finally is the very iconic and unique Marina station which is an elevated station. The decking work has started, and there is also a pedestrian walk for people with disabilities.
“Underneath, will be bus station for Bus Rapid Transit, BRT and First and the Last Mile buses. There will also be ferry services adjoining the Marina station which will move up to the State House.
“That is the summary of the massive architecture that is going on.”
