Passenger services on Takoradi-Sekondi rail line resume October 19

The Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) will on Monday, October 19 resume passenger services on the Takoradi-Sekondi rail line through Kojokrom, the Acting Traffic Manager, Comfort Awinya, has announced.

In a release dated October 14 and copied to the Ghanaian Times, she noted that services on that line were suspended on March 24 due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Ms Awinya explained that the resumption followed a successful test run conducted by the GRCL and a joint test run with the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA), the regulator, to ascertain the suitability of the line for passenger services after the suspension in March.

She added that the Takoradi-Sekondi via Kojokrom line had since been certified by GRDA to be fit for passenger services and assured the general public of the usual comfortable and safe services that the GRCL provided.

Takoradi to Kojokrom is 20 kilometres, and from there to Sekondi is about five kilometres, meaning the distance to be covered from Takoradi to Sekondi through Kojokrom is 25 kilometres.

In June this year, the Ghana Railways Development Authority and Amandi Holdings Limited signed a US$500-million agreement meant to transform Ghana’s railway sector.

It was said at the time that the project would see the construction of sections of the Western Railway Line (Standard Gauge Line) between Takoradi Port and Huni Valley, forming a total of 102 kilometres of continuous single-track railway line.

The project was expected to start in October, 2020.

At the signing ceremony, the Minister for Railway Development, Joe Ghartey, stated that from 2012 to 2017, a narrow-gauge line of approximately 15km was constructed from Sekondi to Takoradi.

“Even though its construction commenced in 2012 and was completed in 2017, barely three years ago, they have to convert it to standard gauge in line with the policy that all new constructions of railway would be standard gauge,” he added.

He said the conversion of Kojokrom to Takoradi Station section of the line would be done under this contract.