Rail transport in Ghana
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Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
has historically been confined to the plains south of the barrier range of mountains north of the city of
Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...
. However, the
narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struct ...
, totalling 1,300 kilometres, is undergoing major rehabilitation and inroads to the interior are now being made. In Ghana, most of the lines are single tracked, and in 1997 it was estimated that 32 kilometres were
double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...
ed. There are no rail links of the main system with adjoining countries. However, the
Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437
Aflao Aflao is a town in Ketu South District in the Volta Region on Ghana's border with Togo. Aflao is the twenty-eighth most populous settlement in Ghana, in terms of population, with a population of 96,550 people. In the 18th century, Aflao serve ...
line of the Togo rail system is partly located in Ghana. There are also plans to extend the Kumasi-Takoradi railway to
Paga Paga is a town in Upper East Region of Ghana, lying north of Bolgatanga. Paga is the capital of Kassena Nankana West District, a district in the Upper East Region in the northern part of Ghana. The town is located on the border of Burkina Faso a ...
, by the
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana t ...
border, plus a branch from Tamale to Yendi. On 31 August 2022, an agreement was announced to upgrade the 299 km Western Railway to , to be operated by Ghana Railway Co and Thelo DB will as rail manager for the US$3·2bn project.


Time line

Inverse order.


2020

Several SGR are under construction, including * a line from
Tema Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most populo ...
, via Ho and
Tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tam ...
to
Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...
, the capital of
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana t ...
* a
concrete sleeper A concrete sleeper (British English) or concrete tie (American English) is a type of railway sleeper or railroad tie made out of steel reinforced concrete. History In 1877, Joseph Monier, a French gardener, suggested that concrete reinforced ...
plant at
Hemi Hemi may refer to: People Surname * Jack Hemi (1914–1996), New Zealand freezing worker, rugby union and league player, shearer * Ronald Hemi (1933–2000), New Zealand rugby union player Given name * Hemi Bawa, Indian painter and sculptor * ...
.


See also

*
Railway stations in Ghana The railway stations in Ghana serve a rail network concentrated in the south of the country. Maps UNHCR Atlas Map Ghana- shows Topography. UN Map Ghana- shows Provinces GhanaNet Map Towns served by rail Existing The following towns or vi ...


References


External links


unofficial website of Ghana Railways
* , illustrated description of the railways of Ghana


Further reading

* Fred Shelford
"On West African Railways"
''Journal of the Royal African Society'', 1 (April, 1902), pp. 339–354 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Ghana {{Ghana-rail-transport-stub