RAIL transport is the most efficient and reliable mode of travelling in any country. Most people who were born in the immediate post-independent Ghana enjoyed the comfort of rail transport or witnessed how efficient the system was in the areas trains plied.
Commuters, especially traders and students, preferred rail transport to any other mode of travelling across the length and breadth of the country. Whatever the destination of travellers, they never missed the services of the trains by either starting the journey with trains or connecting rail services from various areas.
Until the major rail disaster at Asuoyaa near Koforidua in the 1980s, there had been no serious accident on the western, central or eastern railway lines, making the system the safest mode of transportation.
Unfortunately, the decay that characterised the governance system and the conduct of public affairs in the country from the mid 1970s also affected the operations of the railway network.
The quality of services began to decline, forcing many travellers to abandon rail transport. A few of the traders who continued to patronise the services were also forced to stop because of their dwindling fortunes.
Patrons of rail services in the past always look back to the days of the “rail romance” with a feeling of nostalgia, hoping that one day the authorities will raise the necessary capital to revamp the existing services and extend same to other parts of the country.
Residents of towns and villages where railway stations are located are not happy that the infrastructure of the Ghana Railway Company (GRC) Limited has been left to deteriorate and, in many instances, reduced to rubbles.
The good news, however, is that the government has secured support from the Chinese government to rehabilitate the rail system and extend the service to other parts of the country.
As a result of the decay in services, GRC properties have been taken over by certain unscrupulous individuals, in many cases with the connivance of some railway workers.
It was well-known in communities where the rail system served that a few metres of land on each side of the rail line was the property of the GRC and nobody dared to put up permanent structures on it. Farmers cultivated that stretch of land free of charge but those who put up permanent structures on it did so at their own risk.
Today, the picture is different. The properties of the GRC have been encroached upon in cities and villages throughout the country.
But, one may ask, where were the authorities looking when this massive encroachment took place? Does it confirm fears that these acts were done with the connivance of the big wigs at the GRC?
It is against this background that the Daily Graphic endorses the decision of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to demolish all structures that are within 100 feet of railway lines in the metropolis to pave way for work to begin on the project to extend the Accra sub-urban railway network.
We know that such an exercise will not be easy to accomplish, with all interest groups exerting pressure on the AMA to either delay the programme or cancel it.
The time has come for all men of goodwill or people with conviction to stand up to defend this laudable stance of the AMA so that efforts to rebuild the economy through the renewal of infrastructure and the creation of jobs can bear fruits.
The Chief Executive of the AMA, Mr Alfred Vanderpuije, has what it takes to set the example for other state appointees to take steps to protect government property. We urge the Accra Mayor to carry on with his statutory duties without fear or favour.
We do not have to miss this opportunity to right the ills of our society.
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