$2BN TO REVAMP RAIL SYSTEM (SPREAD, MARCH 22, 2010)

More than $2 billion is to be injected into the rail transport system in the country to make it a safer, affordable and cost-effective alternative to road transport.
The investment is to revamp the sector to facilitate the movement of goods and services along the Accra-Koforidua-Kumasi rail line, which was one of the busiest rail lines in the country.
The project, which is expected to be implemented this year, would be funded by the African Railway Company.
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Mrs Dzifa Aku Attivor, said upon completion of the project, travelling from Accra to Koforidua and Kumasi would be faster, while the toll that heavy vehicles took on the roads and road accidents would reduce to the barest minimum.
The deputy minister made the announcement when she was accompanied by the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, and the Municipal Chief Executive for New Juaben, Mr Alex Asamoah, and officials of the Ghana Railway Company (GRC) to inspect encroached lands along rail lines in Koforidua on Saturday.
The visit also afforded the ministers the opportunity to appeal to squatters on the company's land to vacate, otherwise they would be ejected.
The deputy minister said since the operation of a modern and effective railway system was more affordable, cheaper and cost-effective, the government was determined to seek the active participation of investors to commit resources to the sector.
Mrs Attivor indicated that the involvement of foreign investors in the railway system would transform Ghana Railways from its current fragmented, unprofitable state into a viable commercial enterprise that would offer prompt and quality services to commuters.
According to her, the railway system in Ghana had been run down and neglected for many years in spite of its importance to transportation in the country.
"The problems of the GRC have been made worse as many illegal settlers have not only taken over the lands of the company but have also contributed to the current dilapidated state of the railway lines across the country," Mrs Attivor said.
She, therefore, appealed to the illegal settlers to relocate 100 feet from the rail lines, since their presence close to the lines could scare away investors from investing in the sector.
For his part, Mr Ofosu Ampofo, who took Mrs Attivor round to observe at first-hand some of the unauthorised structures sited close to the rail lines in Koforidua, appealed to the squatters to relocate to facilitate the development of the area.
That, he said, would enhance the development of the central business district of Koforidua to make the area investment-friendly.