Western Railway Line, Ghana

The Western Railway Line is a narrow gauge single track railway line from Takoradi Port to Kumasi, with branch lines at Kojokrom, which leads to Sekondi and another at Dunkwa, which leads to Awaso.[1]

Western Railway Line, Ghana
Overview
StatusOpen
Termini
  • Takoradi
  • Kumasi
Connecting linesDunkwa to Awaso Kojokrom to Sekondi
Service
Operator(s)Ghana Railway Company Limited
History
Commenced1898
Completed1903
Technical
Track gaugenarrow gauge

History

The Western Railway Line is the first railway line built in Ghana and was constructed in 1898 and completed in 1903.[2][3] Takoradi was chosen for the line instead of the Elmina due to the failure in negotiations with the owners of the castle. Also Takoradi was a shorter route to Tarkwa, which had just discovered gold.

It was not until in late 1895 that plans for the first locomotive railroad in the Gold Coast Colony germinated under the leadership of Joseph Chamberlain, who had made the development of Britain's tropical Crown colonies one of the cornerstones of his tenure as Secretary of State for the Colonies.[4]

Construction

The western railway line was constructed over three phases.

Phase One - Sekondi to Tarkwa

The first phase of construction began in 1898 from Sekondi to the gold-mining town of Tarkwa. Before the Sekondi-Kumase line was half completed numerous experts had pointed out basic flaws of design and construction.[4]

References
  1. "Ministry of Railways Development - Ghana - takoradi kumasi (western) line". mrd.gov.gh. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  2. Obeng, Daniel Atuah; Bessah, Enoch; Amponsah, William; Dzisi, Emmanuel Komla; Agyare, Wilson Agyei (2022-06-01). "Ghana's railway transport services delivery: A review". Transportation Engineering. 8: 100111. doi:10.1016/j.treng.2022.100111. ISSN 2666-691X.
  3. "About us | Ghana Railway Company Limited". grcl.gov.gh. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  4. Durnett, Raymond E. (September 2006). "British imperial transport management: The Gold Coast Sekondi-Kumase railway, 1903-1911". Journal of Transport History. 27 (2): 60–79. doi:10.7227/TJTH.27.2.7. S2CID 153871053.
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