Accra Goes Rail! …Nsawam Train Ready To Roll

Thousands of Commuters between Nsawam in the Akwapim East district, Ga South, Okai Koi and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly are waiting with baited breath for the roll out of the Accra-Nsawam train service in a few days. The test runs are currently being done along the rail tracks from Accra Central through Kwame Nkrumah Circle to Achimota Pokuase, Amasaman, Kotoku through to Nsawam in the Eastern Region

“We are looking at the end of January, sometime this month. I think they are almost there in terms of infrastructure, now the next bit would be the test runs, they just finished the test run for Tema and announced they were done. My sister company can run the Accra-Nsawam route, once the test run is done,” he said.

A statement issued by Mr. John Essel, the Acting Managing Director of the Company, said it completed a test run of its locomotive from Accra to Nsawam early this year.

The statement also cited additional works done on the Kotoku-Nsawam section of the line to strengthen the structural integrity of the track, dealing with encroachment and removal of unauthorized level crossing as reasons behind the delay.

The rail managers however rendered an apology to the general public for their inability to commence the Accra-Nsawam shuttle service before the end of 2018 as planned.

However, the Ghana Railway Company Limited is still running free services for rail commuters which started from January 8 and ended on January 19 on the Tema-Accra line as part of its 120th Anniversary Celebration.

The charge after would be GH¢5.00 flat rate per passenger. Sometime last year, President Akufo-Addo, stated that the railway sector, which was virtually non-existent before his administration took office on January 7, 2017, is being resurrected.

The President explained that rehabilitation work on the fifty six (56) kilometer narrow gauge line from Kojokrom to Tarkwa through Nsuta is nearing completion, and will lead to the restoration of passenger rail service from Tarkwa to Takoradi for the first time since 2007.

“The freight service from the manganese mine at Nsuta to Takoradi is in operation, and the ongoing rehabilitation has also led to a spectacular reduction in the number of derailments and incidents that occur on the line,” he added.