Ghanaians will soon take a train from Accra to Lagos – Railway Minister

The Minister for Railway Development, John Peter Amewu, has outlined the government's commitment to connecting railway networks to neighbouring countries.

The sector minister, Peter Amewu, said the ambitious plans to modernize and expand the railway network across the ECOWAS bloc are on course.

Speaking at the 2025 Africa Prosperity Dialogues launch in Accra, he stated that they have developed feasibility studies to cater to the Trans-ECOWAS line, which runs from Lomé straight to Ivory Coast.

He indicated that one of the novel projects that could have surprised the African continent is the joint development train project initiated by President Akufo Addo and his counterpart in Burkina Faso.

This project would have operated from Tema through Mpakadan, the Volta Region, Tamale, Paga, and all the way to Burkina Faso, but the project, unfortunately, stalled due to a military takeover and change in government in Burkina Faso.

He mentioned that one of the difficulties in implementing such projects is the Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

The Hohoe MP indicated that the viability gap alone identified within that project was in excess of $1.2 billion.

He therefore assured that a train from Ghana to Nigeria is possible if the government closes the viability gap.

"Traveling by train from Ghana to Nigeria is possible; we've started constructing a railway from Ghana to Burkina Faso, so why not Nigeria? As and when we expand, and there is a lot of voting power there, it can be done," he said.