GRCL opens 4 more stops for shuttle train

Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011
FOUR more stops with platforms have been created by the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) for the benefit of increasing commuters along the Accra-Tema rail line.
The new stops, which are at Nungua, Adegonor (Nungua Junction), Shangri La and Dzorwulu, bring to eight the number of stops for the shuttle trains on that route.
The old stops are at the Odawna (Kwame Nkrumah Circle), Achimota, Batsonaa and Asoprochona railway stations.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Public Relations Officer of the GRCL, Mr J. Abaka-Amuah, explained that until the new stops were made, the trains were not stopping at those points because there were no platforms or steps for passengers to safely board the trains or disembark from them.
He added that it became necessary to build the platforms because the designs of the steps on the Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) coaches currently being used by the GRCL were such that it was impossible for passengers to board or get down from them at places where there were no platforms.
Mr Abaka-Amuah said the new coaches had helped to stop passengers who failed to buy tickets and rather chose to hang dangerously on trains, since the stairs to the new trains folded up and the gates closed immediately the engines were put in motion.
A visit to the Adegonor Rail Stop at Nungua Junction by a Daily Graphic team revealed that new staircases had been constructed to ensure that passengers safely boarded and disembarked from the trains.
Mr Abaka-Amuah said sheds would soon be constructed at all the new stops to protect passengers from the weather, just as prevailed in existing railway stations.
He said there was now the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA) which had the responsibility to provide infrastructure and oversee the assets of the railway sector.
For his part, the Accra Area Traffic Manager of the GRCL, Mr Arthur Mends, said the rail stops had helped to increase the number of passengers who boarded the trains and stated that on Friday morning, 277 passengers boarded the train at the Adegonor train stop alone.
He said that had been the situation ever since the new stops were put into use from December 29, 2010.
Meanwhile, a statement signed by Mr Abaka-Amuah stated that the time schedule for the trains remained the same.
“In the morning, the first train leaves Tema at 5.45 a.m. and arrives in Accra at 6.45 a.m. The second train leaves Accra at 6.50 a.m. and arrives in Tema at 7.50 a.m., and the third train leaves Tema at 7 a.m. and arrives in Accra at 8 a.m.,” it said.
It said the “first train in the evening leaves Accra at 5.40 p.m. and arrives in Tema at 6.40 p.m.”, adding that the second evening train left Tema at 6 p.m. and arrived in Accra at 7 p.m., with the last evening train leaving Accra at 7.10 p.m. and arriving in Tema at 8.10 p.m.
The GRCL advised passengers to always buy tickets before boarding the trains, since failure to do so was an offence.