Onuaonline’s Christian Yalley on January 19 joined Accra’s surviving train service from Adogono to the Kwame Nkrumah ‘Circle”.
He tells the story of excited passengers in a dilapidated train whose tracks are covered by weeds, abandoned vehicles, wooden structures and trading activities.
Please read on…
“It’s 6.30 a.m. at Adogono, one of the train stations along the Tema-Accra rail line. People had already gathered waiting for the arrival of the train to board.
Tickets sell at GHC8.00 for economy and GHC10.00 for first class.
I need to join this and then my cameraman would also join me inside so that we get to move with the other passengers who are using this.
Along the way, one striking concern is the close establishment of houses and makeshift structures as well as how sewage and sand have buried significant portions of the metallic component which then causes derailment.
“If we use the actual roads, it’s more congested with cars and these days you rarely get transportation to your various destinations, so the train doesn’t stop that much so I think it’s better than using public transport,” a passenger said.
“It is good that the government invests in this area of transportation so that we can have an efficient transportation system in this country. Compared to the minutes I get to the workplace, I would choose the train over the normal trotro. This is my first time boarding a train, so I don’t have much experience about how the
Yet another passenger noted that, “I think it’s good. It’s convenient and it’s safe and it’s fast. I’ve taken the train about 13 years now, so this train has been here for long. There’s a new train from Teiman going to Adenta. There’s a new line but this one is old line so the new trains are now working on this line. This is an old railway track.”
Right now, there are some who have reached their destination, so they are going to alight.
We made a number of stops at Baatsona, Shangri-La and Achimota where the locomotive was detached and moved to the other end of the train before we could head towards Circle and Accra.
“You can see that we have two cars at the other end. Before, we were having a Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) there. We started operating somewhere 2011 and it got spoilt. It is stuck at the shed there. If government can repair that one and do some rehabilitation on the line, I think we can use that one,” the driver of the locomotive suggested.
For some passengers, there should be more shuttles for persons who are unable to board the early one which moves just once in a day.
“I think that if one car moves, another should follow, just like the trotro- you know that when one leaves, another will follow,” a passenger suggested.
There is even more danger when you get to Accra where traders are almost taking over the rail lines.
But even as the campaign goes on for deliberate investment into the sector this particular train is aged and wobbles frequently. Even at the first-class section the ceiling fans there are rusty.
“This is my third experience. So if I can say, their timing is always perfect. Our place is at Adogono and I arrived there at 6.40am, before we got there, the train was already there and it’s perfect for me.
Asked if she would recommend that government makes the railway sector even more effective so that it eases the pressure on the regular public transportation system one passenger said, “I think last three weeks we decided to pick the normal car to Accra and then we stood by the roadside for almost an hour looking for the right car to pick. So yes, I would encourage the government to invest more in the railway system.
On how long it takes from Adogono to Accra, a passenger said, “Exactly one hour.”
The train line here is full of waste, thus much more could be done to make the sector more attractive.
