NIGERIAN President Mr Muhammadu Buhari opened the 150km Lagos-lbadan standard gauge line on June 10, 2021. The double track line, which also has a 7km branch, forms the southernmost section of the planned 1343km line from Lagos to Kano. The new railway, which is being built in sections, will replace the 1067mm gauge line that was completed by British companies in the 1920s.
The extension of the new line north into neighbouring Niger is planned and Portuguese construction firm Mota-Engil was awarded a $2 billion contract to build the 284km cross-border Kano-Maradi line in February.
Network
The first 187km standard gauge section to open in Nigeria in July 2016 from the Nigerian capital Abuja to Kaduna was an entirely new route but will be connected to the new Lagos-Kano line when it is completed.