Months after reporting that the Accra-Nsawam train is without lights, the situation still persists.
Investigations by The Ghanaian Times have revealed that out of the nine coaches, only two of them, which are first class, have lights, fans and radios installed while the remaining seven, all second-class, are without lights. Conductors use torchlights for their activities.
When contacted, the Accra Manager of the Ghana Railways Corporation, Francis Eku-Quagraine, told The Ghanaian Times that by the end of next month all the coaches would be fixed with lights, adding that lights, fans and other appliances had already been provided in the first class coaches.
He said the second-class coaches had their lights repaired, but the wires were cut by unknown persons at Nsawam where the train was parked overnight.
He said security had been beefed up to check pilfering on the train.
It is recalled that The Ghanaian Times on its front page of May 17, 2014 carried a story under the headline “Where are the lights in the Accra-Nsawam night train?” In that story, Mrs. Dzifa Attivor, Minister of Transport was reported to have told The Ghanaian Times that the Ministry was aware of the challenges confronting the railway sector, and that efforts were being made to address them through the public-private-partnership agenda.
But after four months, the Accra-Nsawam train has been operating generally in darkness as the electrical wirings are defective, thus affecting the inside lights and the fans.
