Ghana Railway Authority to replace coaches

Story: Matilda Attram
THE Ghana Railways Company Limited is to bring five new coaches from the Takoradi station to augment its fleet on the Accra-Nsawam line.
Mr Anthony Arthur-Mends, the Area Traffic Manager at the Accra station, told the Daily Graphic that the move was intended to enable the company to meet the growing demand for rail transport in Accra.
He explained that as a result of a number of derailments of its coaches in Accra, they had become weak, hence the need to replace them to avoid future problems.
Within the last few years, the coaches of the company on the Accra-Nsawam route have derailed killing at least two persons and the coaches are not pulling their weight.
Mr Arthur-Mends acknowledged the complaints of the passengers with regards to congestion as a result of overcrowding caused by the fewer number of coaches on the tracks, and said efforts were underway to ensure that more coaches were brought in to meet the demand.
Reacting to concerns about the increase in fares, he explained that the decision was to enable the company to raise enough funds to support its maintenance programmes and the high cost of fuel used in running the coaches.
“We have charged 40Gp since 2004 and now we are making losses. Our fares have always been less than what GPRTU vehicles charge, so they should please bear with us,” he added.
About congestion, he attributed the cause to some passengers who sold their wares in the train while on board and noted that their activities rendered it virtually impossible for passengers to move around freely.
Mr Arthur-Mends said numerous attempts to get them to desist from such a practice had always fallen on deaf ears.
He appealed to those involved in such practice to desist from it to allow the free flow of passengers while on board.
Passengers who patronise the Accra-Nsawam train have complained about the inconveniences they go through on board. According to them, the coaches, which were 10 in number, had been reduced to seven in a shuttle.
Linda Ackah, a trader and a passenger on board, told Daily Graphic that “my problem is how congested this train becomes when its about moving from Nsawam to Accra and from Accra to Nsawam. It does not allow free movement when you are on board. I had a cut on my left leg because the train was overloaded”.
She also complained that the train sometimes moved with their goods because they would stop for just a short time without making sure their goods were in or out of the train.
“The ticket examiners only take the fares and do not help us offload our goods when we get to our destinations. If you are not smart, your goods would be taken away and might get lost.”
Others also said they sometimes could not alight at their destinations because the train did not stop at certain points. “I live at Alogboshie but would sometimes have to pick a car back to my destination because the train would not stop at that point,” a lady on board said.
Michael Osei, a student of the Accra Polytechnic and on board at the time of Daily Graphic’s trip, said he had a problem with the maintenance of the train. He said the authorities must provide more spare parts to maintain the train to ensure the convenience of its passengers.
“There are no lights and fans, the place of convenience on board is very bad and the taps do not flow. This encourages other young men to hang outside risking their lives, with the excuse that they want fresh air while the train would be moving.”
He also complained about the poor communication system used by the authorities in conducting the train. “Sometimes we are delayed to our destinations without being informed of anything. At least the authorities should grant us some respect by informing us on what goes wrong when we are delayed.”
Grace Abbey, a trader on board, told Daily Graphic that the fare that was formerly 40Gp had been increased to 60Gp, complaining that it was not easy for passengers. ”I’ll plead with the authorities to consider the economy and reduce the fare for us. Some of us with goods would have to pay double for our seats and our goods but do not get good places to pack them on board before the train sets off,” she added.