Ghana's railway transport services delivery: A review

Abstract

Ghana's once vibrant railway system is presently in a state of disrepair as a result of neglect and underfunding over the years; from an initial network size of 947 km in 1960 to an operational rail line of just 160 km in 2020. The Ghana railway sector's past performance is reviewed together with 5 other countries, namely; Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Germany, and the United Kingdom, as well as the prospects of the industry to the Government's intention. Four (4) indicators were considered in the assessment, they are, the effectiveness of the available rail line, total goods transported by rail, total passengers that traveled by rail, and accessibility to rail service. Relatively, Ghana showed the highest decline in the effectiveness of available rail lines, from 68% in 1980 to 16.9% in 2020. Again, Ghana and Nigeria experienced a substantial decrease in freight volumes transported (81%) between 1990 and 2020, whiles South Africa, Germany, and the United Kingdom witnessed increases averaging 100,000 million ton-km annually over the same period. Accessibility to railway services has consistently decreased over the years; from service access of 29.6% in 1960 to 0.6% in 2020 tells the awful state of the railway sector. However, the prospects of investing in a modernized railway system appear good as the government's drive to industrialize the country continues and new mineral deposits are exploited. The sector is undergoing restructuring to increase private sector participation in the delivery of rail transport services and to stimulate the country's socio-economic development.