ONE refreshing piece of news in the State of the Nation Address delivered by President J. E. A. Mills last Thursday was the decision of the government to fast-track investment in the rehabilitation of the Western railway corridor.
The investment in the railway project, as well as deep sea port, with a dedicated oil services facility, would not only, as the President said, create significant employment themselves, but would also support the growth of other industries.
Many of our people have very fond memories of the safety and efficiency of the railway system in the immediate post-independent Ghana till about the mid-1970s.
The mention of the challenges in the railway sector to such people, especially those above 50 years, leads them to develop nostalgia because of the total deterioration of the railway system, once the pride of the entire nation.
Even to a section of the younger generation, the railway system represented the best in the movement of goods and people from areas served by the rail road.
Whenever news of the rehabilitation of the railway sector is made public, those who enjoyed the services of the system in those "good old days" recall the era of the "rail romance".
It was a lot of fun to travel by train when "sleeper" trains, otherwise known as "blue-blue", were introduced and the passengers were provided with absolute comfort during their travels, especially at night.
The railway sector itself has a rich history in trade unionism in the country because of the role the railway sector played in labour activism from their base at "Bottom Tree" in Sekondi-Takoradi.
The Daily Graphic will be first to admit that all is not well with the railway system in the country. A few of the services that are still operating through the ingenuity of the workers are not as reliable as they used to be in the so-called heydays.
That the railway system is a pale shadow of itself today may be an understatement. The various railway stations that used to be centres of brisk business are all in a state of disrepair. Major portions of the eastern corridor of the railway lines are overgrown with weeds.
Our governments have tried to revive the railway system but so far, action has been slow. A few years ago, the major portions of the Achimota-Tema Rail Road were rehabilitated and inaugurated amidst pomp and pageantry but the excitement died down soon after because the expectations could not be met.
In spite of the challenges in the sector, a few of the services being operated are highly patronised by the travelling public. The shuttle services from Accra to Nsawam and Accra to Tema are over-subscribed by passengers, especially workers and traders.
The huge patronage of these limited services sends very loud messages to the authorities that we cannot do without rail transport and the need to re-shape it to meet the expectations of the travelling public is without question.
The railway system is the means of transport of choice in all societies, including even the advanced ones, because it is reliable and safe. Working people and other adults in other spheres of endeavour will give very good testament of the railway system in the 1960s. Besides the safety guidelines observed by the officials, it hardly failed those in need of its services.
Every system has its merits and demerits but a trip down memory lane indicates that society tends to gain if more resources are directed at the rehabilitation of the railway sector.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, encourages the government to explore the opportunities available to restore the railway sector to its good old days when it was both fun and pleasure to travel by train. Nothing must stand in our way.
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