POLISH manufacturer Pesa presented the first completed two-car DMU from an order for 12 for Ghana Railways during a ceremony at Bydgoszcz main station on February 7.
Production of the first standard-gauge train, which is based on the class 847 two-car DMU supplied to Czech Railways (ČD), was recently completed at Pesa’s plant in Bydgoszcz. The vehicle is based on the supplier’s Regio 160 platform and is equipped with EU Stage V-compliant diesel engines and is described by Pesa as the “most environmentally-friendly DMU delivered to Africa.”
The new trains will operate on the 96.7km single-track line connecting the port of Tema, east of the capital Accra, with the river port of Mpakadan, which opened in 2022. Tests will continue in Poland this month, after which the DMU cars will be uncoupled, moved by road to Hamburg and then shipped to Tema. “In March 2024 we will start the last test runs in operational conditions,” says Mr Jan Bończyk, head of export markets at Pesa.
Several projects are underway to revive existing 1067mm-gauge infrastructure as well as construct new standard-gauge lines in Ghana. The Tema – Mpakadan line is the first phase of the 1000km Ghana – Burkina Faso Railway Interconnectivity Project, which will extend to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Ghana Railways has also ordered standard-gauge equipment from Chinese manufacturers, including 35 locomotives from a consortium of Dongfang Electrical, CRRC Dalian and CRRC Qiqihar.
Among the dignitaries present at the unveiling in Bydgoszcz were Mr Yaw Owusu, president of the Ghana Railway Development Agency (pictured right), Mr Piotr Malepszak, Poland’s deputy minister of infrastructure, and Mr Michał Koniuch, deputy governor of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, along with representatives of Pesa’s management board, including president, Mr Krzysztof Zdziarski, (pictured left) and Ghana Railways.
“The delivery of these modern trains is a milestone in the development of railways in Ghana, which will be of great importance not only for the railway sector, but for the overall social and economic development of the country,” Owusu says.
“We want to continue the cooperation of our local companies with Pesa. It is an opening to international economic cooperation, which brings many benefits for our citizens.”
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