The new £7.6bn railway line stretching 870 miles across Africa's most populated country

Also known as West-East Coastal Rail Line, the Lagos-Calabar Railway is a massive construction that will link the southwest of to the Niger Delta.

The Niger Delta, also known as the Oil River, is the delta of the Niger River located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states.

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a 435 mile project that will connect nine states, including Ondo, Ogun, Ondo,, Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom.

The immense project is intended to boost economic activity in Nigeria and improve connectivity.

Since day one, the project has been shrouded by doubt and controversy with reactions from wondering why this project needs to be made while the country continues to suffer in an economic crisis.

The Lagos-Calabar Railway Line Project was proposed back in 2014, however, the project never got off the ground.

The rail line route was set to consist of 22 railway stations fitted with auxiliary amenities, level crossing and administrative space.

The Goodluck Jonathan administration conceived the project which was going to be funded by the Exim Bank of China but they later backed out of this.

In 2021, construction of the coastal rail entered into a funding agreement with the Federal Government and Standard Chartered Bank.

What remains of the rail line is unknown however media had reported that the Minister of Works, David Umahi, had disclosed that the government had approved the contract for the first phase of the construction.

The Construction of the Lagos-Calabar Highway officially began in March 2024.

According to Umahi, once approvals, procurement and other necessary processes are finalised then other multiple sections of the line will be completed.

The project was set to run in phases with the first being between Port Harcourt and Calabar.

The second phase of Lagos-Calabar Railway was to run between Port Harcourt and Lagos through Onitsha.

Other tasks set for this project include the iInstallation of safety systems, lighting system, signalling system, electrical systems and the laying of tracks and electricity lines, are among the other tasks.

According to Lai Muhammed, who served as the minister of Information and Culture of Nigeria, said: TThe proposed route alignment is to go from Lagos to Shagamu, Shagamu to Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu-Ode to Ore, Ore to Benin City, Benin to Sapele, Sapele to Warri, Warri to Yenagoa, Yenagoa to Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt to Aba, Aba to Uyo, Uyo to Calabar, Calabar to Akamkpa to Ikom, to Obudu Ranch, with a branch line from Benin City to Asaba, Onitsha Bridge and then Port Harcourt to Onne Deep Seaport."