Passenger Railway Service To Be Introduced Soon

By Edwina SiaJanga

Recent signing of an agreement between the government of Sierra Leone, represented by the Mines Minister, Timothy Kabba, andARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms Ltd (ARISE IIP) on Tuesday 17^th January 2023, suggests that the new company may soon embark on the introduction of rail services to passengers.

According to the agreement, Arise IIP will refurbish the Pepel Tonkolili railway work, Pepel Port, rail connectivity to MarampaMines and the introduction of rail services and rail connection to Guinea. Though the rail service will initially be concentrated in the mining areas in the north, it will provide passenger service for residents in those regions, and has the proclivity to enhance trade among the people in that area, and probably reduce the cost of transportation of goods from those areas to Freetown, even though it will not be connected to the capital.

Economic analysts are of the view that with the introduction of rail service to passengers in those regions, there is high probability that the government, or subsequent governments will embrace the idea of enhancing rail service across the country, and could encourage the investor to replicate the service across the other parts of the country, which would mean building railway lines all over the country.

The economic benefits from this move cannot be overemphasized, as farmers and other business people may be using the facility to transport their wares toPepel, where they could be easily ferried to Freetown via boats plying that route. It will also enhance the sea transportation drive of the Ministry of Transport, where business people will be using sea transport to convey their goods to and from the capital. Transportation will be made faster and business will in return grow.

As the said agreement and objective of the company is to include rail connectivity to Guinea, it is envisaged that this will drastically reduce the risk that traders undergo to transport their goods from Guinea to Freetown. In effect, when this rail service is developed to include connectivity to Guinea, trade will increase and more revenue will come into the country. Should prospective governments in the future see the need for an increase in rail connectivity across the country, we can see a substantial increase in business activities across the country, and a marked reduction in the cost of transportation, as well as reduction in the many road crashes reported yearly.

Managing Director of ARISE IIP,JesperHarring Boll, during the signing ceremony, said that his company is a conceiver, developer and operator of high-added-value infrastructure, disclosing that they are operating in many African countries, including Benin, Togo, Gabon, Cote D’ivoire, DRC etc. and aims at increasing connectivity to as far as the Republic of Guinea.