Lagos blue, red lines rail begins operation Q4, says Sanwo-Olu 

By Lukman Olabiyi 

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, said the much-awaited blue and red lines trains are to commence operation before the fourth quarter of the year.

He stated this when he took a tour of the train project from Ikeja, where the red line begins to Yaba, Ebute Meta and finally to Marina where the blue line terminates.

Speaking with journalists after the tour, Sanwo-Olu said  the monitoring of the project would be done on quarterly basis to fast track the construction and delivery of et project.

“Our promise on the blue and the red line is still on course. We believe that, by coming on a quarterly basis to supervise them, we would ensure that before the end of this year, we will see the trains on top of the tracks. That is our commitment and we will begin to monitor and check ourselves.

“It is a very iconic and landmark project that we are truly proud of. On behalf of the government, I want to commend all of our contractors because they are very committed. They have assured us that whatever it takes, they will complete all of the projects on schedule and on budget,” the governor said. 

Governor Sanwo-Olu, who was accompanied by some of his cabinet members and heads of agencies, said the inspection tour to the blue and red line rail project stations was in regards to the promise made by his administration to monitor the pace of works in the areas on a quarterly basis.

The governor, who promised to intensify supervision and monitoring of the projects quarterly to facilitate speedy completion, also commended the contractors for keeping up with the timeline at the stations visited, considering improvements at the sites of the projects.

“We embarked on this similar tour about three or four months ago and we did mention that we would be doing it every quarter so that we can see how far the constructions are going. As we all have seen, I am happy to report that the construction is going on according to schedule. All the contractors are here even today not being a working day, they are all on-site working,” the governor said. 

Governor Sanwo-Olu also disclosed the plan by the state government to relocate the market around the train station at Yaba as the government was engaging the concerned stakeholders on how best to relocate traders to another place. 

During Monday’s tour to the four stations inspected by Governor Sanwo-Olu, there were significant improvements in construction works at the sites of the Ikeja, Yaba, Ebute-Metta and Marina stations, compared to September 25, 2021 visit to the sites.  

At the Ikeja station, which would be the main iconic station for the red line project, the station was at foundation level in September , but the project is now at the second floor level, remaining a floor before they will get to the third floor, which is the final floor.

The road works at Ikeja, as well as the overpass from Obafemi Awolowo to Agege Motor Road are also ongoing. 

At Yaba site, about three months ago, the contractor was at the excavating stage but, they are now decking to go to the second floor in line with the matching order to the contractor to ensure that they keep to the timelines and the deadline.

The Ebute-Metta Station is far ahead of delivery because the contractor has finished the carcass of the station as Governor Sanwo-Olu and his entourage during the tour to the station were able to walk into the station safely.

There are also great improvements in the pace of work at the iconic Marina Station, as beams meant for the construction of the station have already been precast and kept in a safe place.

The red and blue line rail is part of the intermodal transportation system of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration in reducing gridlock and ensuring interconnectivity in different parts of the state. And when completed, the 37 kilometres Red Line Rail Project will link Agbado to Marina, while the 27.5 kilometres Blue line Rail Project will run from Okokomaiko to Marina.