Government re-launches Accra -Tema rail service

The Ministry of Railway Development in collaboration with the Ghana Railway Company Limited has revived the Accra-Tema rail services as part of government’s bid to improve rail transport in the country.

The launch is an effort by government to re-establish the rail link and improve access between the capital city and the Industrial and Maritime hub of Ghana for smooth economic and administrative operations.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the launch, the Minister of Railway Development, Mr. Joe Ghartey, expressed joy for seeing the rail lines which had been lying dormant for months revived to continue its operations.

Mr. Ghartey observed that the difficulties the company faced made it fold up but “the government has injected money into its operations to ensure it was fully functional again.”

He informed that the launch was to unveil their new services to the public and also announce the free rail transport between Accra and Tema for two weeks.

The Minister advised the workers of the Ghana Railway Company Limited to see the rail service as their own saying, “When the service collapses it’s your work which has collapsed and therefore put in much effort to ensure it survives.”

Mr. Ghartey informed the public that the rail lines were the properties of the people of Ghana and that they stood to be destroyed if people traded on them and therefore the need for a collaborative effort to protect the lines.

The Accra Tema rail services was established to link the two cities by rail but the services was truncated towards the end of 2017 due to financial and other challenges.