The first phase of the Lagos Blue Line rail system designed to run from Mile 2 (on the mainland) to Marina (on the island), will test run by December 2022, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said on Wednesday.
The entire length of the blue line rail is 27km and will run from Okokomaiko to Marina. However, the Lagos State government has hinted it is in talks with the Ogun State government on the possibility of extending it to Agbara in the long run.
Sanwo-Olu gave the assurance during the celebration of the last T-Beam launch for the blue line mass transit project, at Marina, Lagos Island.
“This administration will continue to keep to its promises on timely completion of infrastructural projects in the state. “Today (yesterday) is a historic day. We are launching the Last T-Beam and it is part of our commitment to deliver the blue line project as scheduled and on time to the residents of Lagos before the end of August,” Sanwo-Olu said.
The governor, who commended the contractor, CCECC, for working towards delivering the project as scheduled, said his administration was committed to delivering the project.
“This administration will continue to meet up with its promises on timely completion of infrastructural projects in the state,” Sanwo-Olu said.
The governor described the last T-Beam launch, the 984th for the blue line rail project, as “historic” and a confirmation that the blue line project would be delivered on schedule. He assured that the Marina station, which is the iconic station for the rail system, will be completed before December ending.
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“We want to ensure that we formally complete the blue line before December 31, 2022,” he stated.
He disclosed that the passenger trains that will ply the route will be arriving in Nigeria from China in October. “We hope that the two brand new sets will arrive in the country before the end of October.
“However, we will be doing testing from December, with the hope that real passenger movement will start in the first quarter of 2023.
“We will take this construction from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko all the way back, and while taking it back, we will build a station at FESTAC Town, Alakija, Volkswagen, LASU, and finally, at Okokomaiko.”
Abimbola Akinajo, managing director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), in her address, said the rail line from Okokomaiko to Marina, has been one of the most difficult projects the Lagos State government has embarked upon given the many challenges it has had to overcome.
According to Akinajo, “to get to this point, we have had disturbances and delays in the relocation of submarine cables, submarine natural gas pipelines, and removal of underground shipwrecks. The submarine geological conditions are complex, thus making construction in the lagoon extremely difficult.’’
