RAIL BACK ON TRACK...Accra-Tema revamped...Other cities to be linked (LEAD STORY, OCT 29, 2010)

PRESIDENT John Atta Mills yesterday inaugurated a $23-million diesel engine train service with a capacity of 600 passengers on an expanded Accra-Tema rail network.
The President was one of the passengers on the train’s inaugural journey from Tema to Accra on the rail line which has been expanded at a cost of $14.7 million.
He used the occasion to assure Ghanaians that the railway sector would receive a major boost during the next two years to link various parts of the country, especially the rural communities where foodstuffs and mineral ore and cash crops could be transported to urban communities and the ports for export.
The President said the complete overhaul of the country’s infrastructural network, especially the rail sector, was uppermost in the scheme of activities of the government during its tenure of office, adding that, “we promise to work assiduously in actualising that objective”.
He said the government expected the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA) to come up with innovations which would ensure that comfortable passenger coaches were rolled out to ensure that workers, especially those in the urban centres, availed themselves of the coaches during and after work.
He told the large gathering that the improvement of the rail sector would in no small measure reduce pressure on the country’s roads, which suffered massive deterioration after few years of construction.
President Mills catalogued other advantages of the rail sector over road transport as the avoidance of traffic jams, which have become a permanent feature of the country’s urban roads and other stretches of highways, and the carrying of bulk goods and precious metals at cheaper rates.
He urged the GRDA to devise more appropriate ways of maintaining the coach to prolong its lifespan, as well as maximise the needed revenue from its operations.
Apparently unhappy about the trading of insults among Ghanaians of late, the President asked the people to direct their energies into productive ventures, which is what would ensure the reconstruction of the country and renewal of the society.
He said the use of abusive language, especially on the airwaves, had the potential of sending wrong signals to the youth, who might perceive insults as a good thing and indulge in them when they grew into adults.
He said differences among the various political groupings should not degenerate into the use of intemperate language, which is not part of the country’s traditional values.
The Minister for Transport, Mr Mike Hammah, said the new train service was expected to ease traffic congestion within the Accra-Tema Metropolis and move commuters safely and conveniently to their destinations.
He noted that with the revamping process being vigorously pursued, the railway company would soon be able to stand on its feet and wean itself from government financial support.
Mr Hammah commended the contractor on the rail line project, M/S Amandi Investments, for the level of professionalism and competence exhibited during the period of execution.
The Board Chairman of the Ghana Railway Company Limited, Dr Clement Hammah, gave the assurance that the company would justify the investments made by the government to improve the country’s rail sector.
Mr Dan Markin, Board Chairman of the Ghana Railways Development Authority, said the authority was in discussion for the extension of other rail lines in the country and appealed to the public to assist the authority by being watchdogs to safeguard and protect the investment made by the government.