President pledges to revive rail transport

Government is ready to revive the country’s defunct railway system, commencing with the Eastern and Western corridor lines, President John Dramani Mahama has said.

   

The reconstruction of the railway lines, expected to begin this year in earnest, is currently at a very deplorable state. 

The Western rail line for instance has been a major problem for bulk producers of manganese and bauxite miners, forcing them to use costly road transport to haul their minerals and equipment.

 “It is my hope that this year we cut the sod for beginning the reconstruction of railways in this country,” President Mahama told journalists in Accra.  

“For any country that intends to develop, the railways system is very important and we cannot continue to carry all cargo by road. This situation is not acceptable,” he said.

The President explained that the main railway lines being targetted are the Western and Eastern corridors.

The Eastern line will particularly be tied in with the Boankra Inland Port, which has partly been completed is but yet to be activated due to lack of facilities such as warehouses and rail lines. 

“I believe that if the railways were reconstructed and the Boankra Inland Port was activated, it would make it easy for importers from Burkina Faso and other areas to pick their cargo from there instead of driving all the way to Tema.

“The inland port is supposed to serve the middle-belt, the northern parts of the country as well as Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali,” President Mahama said.

 The Ghana Chamber of Mines has been advocating rehabilitation of the railway system, notably the Western rail lines, as the inherent benefits to the country would be enormous -- given that its services will extend to passenger travel and other sectors of the country.

 

 “On two occasions, the Ghana Manganese Company has offered to directly invest in the rail infrastructure; but until now, the authorities are yet to accept the company’s offer,” according to the chamber of mines.

  

As a result, the Ghana Bauxite Company has completely stopped hauling goods by rail and solely transports its ore by the less cost-effective road mode, while Ghana Manganese Company uses the rail on a reduced operational level.

  

This has adversely impacted realisation of these companies’ strategic objectives.  B&FT has gathered that rehabilitation of the Western railway, which is envisaged under the US$3billion China Development Bank (CDB) loan agreement, will cost an estimated US$400million.

President John Dramani Mahama in his 2012 state-of-the-nation address pledged a massive revival of the defunct rail system.

“There will be significant improvement in our railway network in the next three years. Government believes that the private sector has a role to play in the ongoing modernisation of the rail sector. 

 “An example is the rehabilitation of the Accra to Tema railway network, Kumasi to Ejisu railway line, Accra-Nsawam railway line, and Takoradi to Kojokrom railway network,” he said.  

In 2010, a contract was signed to construct a railway line from Paga (on the border with Burkina Faso) to Kumasi plus a branch from Tamale to Yendi, but nothing realistic appears to be ongoing.

The operation of the country’s rail lines began in 1898 under the Gold Coast Civil Service, with headquarters in Sekondi.

 The headquarters was transferred to Takoradi after the building of Takoradi Harbour, and railways and ports were jointly administered under the Ghana Railways and Ports Authority.

 In 1976, SMC Decree 95 created the Ghana Railway Corporation to separate railways management from ports. The company enjoyed the status of a public corporation until 19 March 2001 when it became a limited liability company.

 Much of Ghana’s 953-kilometre rail network was built to support agricultural and mining activities in the western, central and eastern zones of the country, but in the last few decades they have failed to yield the impact expected due to their deterioration -- brought about by lack of fresh investment to modernise the system.