Opinions of Friday, 14 October 2022

Columnist: Anthony Obeng Afrane

Kudos to President Mahama for what he did in the railway sub-sector

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Rail transportation has many advantages: moving passengers and cargo to ease pressure on our roads; transporting raw materials to the ports, etc. HE John Mahama based on these advantages committed to the redevelopment of the railway sub-sector in line with his government's completion of the Ghana Railway Master Plan. The plan entails the reconstruction and modernisation of the existing rail network in the southern half of the country to be followed by the extension of rail lines to the northern half. In line with this, work on the Sekondi-Takoradi through to the Kojokrom railway line was completed. In addition, a modern train station was completed at Sekondi. Work also started and was completed on the Takoradi and Butuah Train Stations. Suburban rail services began on the Takoradi to Sekondi line, through Kojokrom in 2016 to ease the ever-increasing road congestion and reduce travel time between the twin cities. The Ghana Railway Company deployed new air-conditioned diesel multiple train units on the line. The Front End Engineering Design (FEED) for the Western railway line from Takoradi to Kumasi with a branch line from Dunkwa to Awaso was completed. FEED for the Eastern railway from Tema through Accra to Kumasi commenced in phases and the Accra to Nsawam stretch began.