Ghana's Railways Development Minister, John Peter Amewu, has provided insights into an accident that involved one of the country's newly acquired trains from Poland.

According to him, the train collided with a parked Kia truck on the railway during a test run.

Fortunately, there were no casualties reported.

This incident occurred on the Tema-Mpakadan railway route, near kilometer 76 from Tema, around 12:15pm. The trains, recently assembled in Poland, are aimed at enhancing railway transportation in Ghana.

Scheduled to commence operations by May, but the accident prompted a closer examination of the trains' readiness for public service.

“Today, unfortunately, around 12:15pm, the Ministry in collaboration with our foreign engineers and the Ghana Railway Development Authority conducted a test run from kilometer zero which is at the workshop in Tema towards kilometer 98 at Mpakadan.”

“On approaching kilometer 76, [there was] a Kia truck parked right across the rail line, you know, stationary. As the train approached, the driver tried to apply the static state to enable the train to halt. But because it was very close to the Kia truck, it was unable to and therefore run straight into it.”

Additionally, the Minister clarified that apart from damage to the front of the train, there were no other significant issues. He mentioned that engineers are presently engaged in repairing the train.

“The engineers are currently working on it. The train has been brought back to the workshop. The Kia driver himself has reported himself to the police station, but the conduct of the driver as of now cannot be well explained,” the Minister said.

“And the good thing is that all the passengers and the inspectors on board the train, none of them got injured and we are currently in the process of assessing the damage to the train. Technically, I would say the train is still in very good form. Nothing in terms of electrical or the engine has been affected, except the front that got slightly damaged.

“The Polish engineers who were assembling the train are in charge and expected to be handed over to government. The government had not yet taken complete ownership of the train. So we are hoping that the insurance company will work on it as quickly as possible for us to put the train back on the line.”

Altogether, Ghana anticipates the arrival of 12 cutting-edge trains from Poland, aiming to enhance railway transportation across the nation.