Railways minister touts prospects of the sector

The Railways Development Minister, Joe Ghartey, has expressed confidence that the Ghana Railway Company Limited will continue to sustain and improve its services to other parts of the country following the rehabilitation of the Accra-Tema railway stretch, which had ground to a halt for close to a year.

Speaking on the sidelines at the re-launch of the Accra-Tema motorway route on Tuesday, 29 January 2019, Mr Ghartey said based on the massive capital investment made in recent times into the railway sector, the company’s challenges will be a thing of the past.

Ghana’s railway sector, over the years, has suffered major setbacks ranging from issues of staffing to low levels of investment, making it difficult for the company to thrive.

However, the Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan Constituency assured the country that the railway sector will be resuscitated to help the transportation sector.

“We have been able to revive our company, the Ghana Railway Company Limited, and from now on, the company will grow from strength to strength. A lot of our budget, as a ministry, has gone into rehabilitation of the lines. There are parts of the lines that had to be reconstructed,” he said.

Mr Ghartey said systems and procedures are important but the ministry is also investing in quality human capital.

He explained that the railway sector had collapsed with little investment but the government has put in place measures to ensure that the sector becomes vibrant.