Ghana High-Speed Railway Feasibility Study

3. REGARD OF CORRIDORS

3.1 Basics

The investment cost of High-Speed Railway is quite high and for that reason, only lines with
low costs and relatively high demand will offer the chance of a positive result in a cost
benefit analysis. Therefore, it will be useful to determine corridors based on traffic demand
and cost of construction.

Building completely new lines all over Ghana dedicated for high speeds of 350 kph and more
will reduce travel times but they are extremely expensive and will affect a cost-benefit-
analysis negatively in comparison of using the existing lines. But it must be noted that the
existing lines are neither rail-worthy nor up to the standard gauge of 1,435 mm (current gauge
is 1,067 mm) for new High-Speed trains. That is to say, the existing lines are worthless, and
must be replaced with absolute new lines.

As it is not useful to plan a whole network at once, it has to be decided which corridors and
which alignment in the corridors are preferred for immediate implementation and in what
phases.

The study group sees their task for the study in finding a starting point for High-Speed
Railway in Ghana and to show a way to start rather soon. Therefore corridors have to be
found where the chance of realisation is the highest and the problems to be solved are the
lowest. That does not mean that the corridors which are not chosen in the investigation are
worse for instance by regarding travel demand. But they either are more expensive to build or
there are alternatives which have to be compared in detail to find the best.

3.2 Investment Costs

Detailed cost-calculations shall be carried out in the second part of the study. The cost
calculation will be carried out as a risk-analysis of costs. High-Speed Railway tracks through
mountainous areas may be less expensive to construct due to the rock quality, but may result
in more long span bridges and galleries to be built to avoid damages by falling rocks. Though
rock-fall has been partially addressed by the extended width of the right-of-way, options such
as cutting through mountains shall be considered. Any additional cost of construction works
can be cushioned by transforming cut-out materials such as rocks into quarry materials for
use in the construction of the tracks.

3.2.1 Adidome vs. Akuse

The alternate routes from Accra to Ho identified for the High-Speed Railway have raised a
number of questions such as travel time, social cost as a result of the diversion, cost of
construction, and economic impact.

First, the corridor through Akuse will be more expensive than through Adidome. This is
because, through Akuse, there will be an additional track of 73 km to be constructed together
with the construction of the longest bridge in Ghana. This will result in a saving of about 114
million Euros.

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The total distance through Adidome from Accra to Ho will increase by approximately 20 km,
but since trains are scheduled for only non-stop trips between Accra and Ho, the time that
may be lost as a result of travelling an additional 20 km is re-gained from the non-stop
schedule. From current calculations, a train travelling through Adidome on a non-stop
schedule will take a shorter time to arrive at the other end as against travel through Akuse.

The non-stop schedule for the Accra – Ho – Accra train is compensated for by a stop by
trains on the Accra – Aflao – Accra route. Considering ethnicity, this arrangement far meets
the social needs of the people along the coast and further promotes economic growth in the
area.

Another advantage of routing through Adidome is the provision of commuter trains on the
route between Adidome and Ho during periods when the tracks shall have no High-Speed
Train traffic. This transport mode implies the dual usage of the High-Speed Railway tracks
and regular transport services between Adidome and Ho for the rural areas along the High-
Speed Railway corridor.

3.2.2 Investment costs

Unlike in Europe, Far East and North America, right-of-way is at its lowest due to the low
cost of land. Construction related materials and labour are similarly low and also result in
lower investment costs. Lack of Train Engineers (Operators) and High-Speed Railway
consultants in Ghana means engagement of relative expertise from Europe, North America
and Australia. The study team found out that France is at the end of its High-Speed Railway
development and has quite some expertise which is currently out of work. This group of
experts currently without engagements will be cheaper than the employment of consulting
firms to perform the various tasks.

A large proportion of the works will be undertaken locally with the exception of the
construction of the bridge over the River Volta for the Accra - Adidome section and selected
other long span bridges especially in difficult terrains. All other works shall be carried out
using expertise from France and other countries for supervision, management and strict
quality control.

3.2.3 Demand and offer

Almost every community that falls within the corridors expect to have a train station of some
sought. Despite the necessity and possibility, factors such as passenger volume, travel time
(for those on long trips), and speed restrictions on short distances will make travel on the
High-Speed Railway unattractive and uncompetitive.

With 50 km set as the minimum travel distance for normal train travels, only district capitals
which fall within the corridors have been provided with stations. A solution to the problem
will be to provide regular bus services to the nearest High-Speed Railway Stations.

This means that only in corridors with combination of relatively high traffic demand and low
investment and operating costs can be expected to benefit from High-Speed Railway stations.

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In the corridors where traffic demand seems to be too low to build specific High-Speed
Railway stations, there are various alternatives to integrate this corridor into a preferably
economical basic network which have to be worked out in more detail to find the best
solution.

3.2.4 Impacts

The siting of the Accra High-Speed Railway station at the Achimota Forest will create
positive environmental impact in Accra. People will be less polluted by noise and carbon
monoxide as well as relieved of congestion on the roads. But the contrary will be the result if
this site is not accepted as the best option. The farther away the Accra High-Speed Railway
Station is from Accra, the less the benefits become positive.

3.3 Integrated Concepts

An integrated concept means careful consideration of the aspects which make up a complete
railway system. High-Speed Railway must be regarded as an integrated concept and should
always be of the following sequence:

Superstructure - Infrastructure - Vehicles - Services – Operations

3.3.1 Infrastructure

Running high-speed (e.g. 350 kph or even more) means high costs for superstructure,
infrastructure, vehicles and energy. The speed has to fit to stop patterns and landscape.
Acceleration up to 350 kph will not reduce travel times when the train has to stop every 20 or
30 km. High potential for environmental negative impacts also means higher costs for
bridges, tunnels and other artificial buildings.

Economical efficiency on one hand is increasing by shorter travel times, but can on the other
hand also decrease by higher investment costs because of high-speed.

3.3.2 Vehicles

In order to limit investment costs of vehicles and energy consumption, with the exception of
the corridors which are designated as Express Service routes, installed power will not be
defined for holding maximum speed on those lines where express service is not designated.
For example, the Eastern Corridor Extension, Ashanti Circular, Savannah and Green
Corridors shall not be designated for maximum speed. The same will apply to the Western
Corridor (that is, Sekondi – Sunyani).

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3.3.3 Operations and Services

Operations must be planned such that feeder systems are connected to the High-Speed
Railway stations. At High-Speed Railway stations where freight services are available,
freight locomotives should be given common platform just like High-Speed Railway freight
trains for the loading and discharge of cargo. However, freight locomotive services should
not be allowed to create restraints to the normal operations of the entire High-Speed Railway
network.

Operations of mix services depend very much not only on the superstructure but on the
general infrastructure especially station type and design. This implies that station designs
should enable quick off–loading and loading of cargo. Freight forwarding and clearing at
freight terminals must be quick and make road transport freight services woefully
unattractive. The economic benefit of both High-Speed Railway and locomotive freight
transport over road transport freight services to service users should similarly be made more
attractive than the latter mode of transport.

Railway warehouses for bulk cargo are recommended to be built away from High-Speed
Railway stations meant for passenger service. Line extensions from passenger service stations
shall be constructed appropriately outside the main High-Speed Railway passenger stations.

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