Lagos-Ibadan Railway: Amaechi In China As May Delivery Date Remains Sketchy - Photos

All eyes are on the minister of transportation, Mr. Rotimi Ameachi if he will prove his word on the Lagos-Ibadan Railway on the May delivery date. According to The Punch Newspapers...

The Federal Government has asked the Chinese Railway Rolling stock Corporation Qishuyan, the firm in charge of the construction of locomotives for Nigeria, to speed up its work, as the tracks of the Lagos-Ibadan rail line where the locomotives are to be deployed will be ready soon.

According to the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, a significant section of the Lagos-Ibadan rail line is scheduled for completion by the end of May or the first week in June.

Amaechi, who disclosed this when he led a delegation from Nigeria on an inspection tour of the CRRC in China, stated that Nigeria needed the locomotives before the completion of work on the rail line by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

The minister was quoted in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by the Federal Ministry of Transportation as saying, “Make it faster to construct these locomotives because we need them now.

“By end of May and first week in June, CCECC would have completed work on the tracks. What this visit has shown is that there is neither locomotives nor coaches that are ready. So if you speed up the process, we will be grateful.”

The Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Fidel Okhiria, said the designs for the locomotives had been completed and CRRC had started making the components.

He said, “We are expecting four motorcades for the Diesel Multiple Units, eight locomotives for passengers and seven other locomotives for freight. Eight coaches with two motorcade form a set, while the passenger coaches are independent.

“The engines we are expecting are going to be more modern and encased so that the technicians can work whether rain or shine.”

The General Manager, CRRC Qishuyan Co., Ltd, Xu Shibao, said his firm would do its best for the training and after-sales service in Nigeria.

Shibao told the Nigerian delegation that the company would further contribute to the development of Nigeria’s railway.

This is not the first times the delivery date for the Lagos-Ibadan Railway has been shifted. The minister as at last year said the railway will be completed before February of which was shifted to May again. It will be interesting to see how this will pay out.

Meanwhile, the Lagos - Ibadan Railway has 21 bridges with a total of 178 spans. 712 precast T-beams are required for the bridges. As at 17 April 2019., the last T-beam for this project was laid.

AutoReportNG got some exclusives images of the minister and his entourage when they visited the Chinese Railway Rolling stock Corporation Qishuyan in China some few weeks backs.

Images from the construction site...