Tema-Mpakadan Passenger Railway

Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA) / Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL)
Ghana
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The Journey

Navigate from Tema Harbour Station to Adomi Station (Mpakadan) across a span of 97.7km.

Scenery Highlights
  • Climb out of Tema Harbour through the coastal industrial zone
  • Afienya rural transition — palm groves and smallholder farms
  • Panoramic Shai Hills Resource Reserve traverse with rocky granite outcrops
  • Slow crawl past the Kpong Dam spillway
  • Akuse Halt riverside setting on the Volta
  • Volta River floodplain approach to Adomi
  • First glimpse of Lake Volta from the Mpakadan railhead pier
  • Late-afternoon golden light on the Volta basin from Senchi Halt
Quick Facts
  • Duration

    1.5 hours

  • Distance

    97.7 km

  • Est. Price

    Affordable — Economy GHS 15 (Tema–Afienya) / GHS 25 (Tema–Kpong) / GHS 40 (full Tema–Adomi); Family Pack GHS 110

Official Booking Provider
Classes & Accommodations

Meals: None — snack trolley circulates on services over 60 min

Ensuite: No

Meals: None

Ensuite: No

Meals: None

Ensuite: No

Meals: Customisable on request

Ensuite: No

Engine / Locomotive

Pesa Regio160 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) — two-car sets, 220-passenger capacity, max speed 120 km/h, two MAN D2876 LE123 diesel engines per car producing 360 kW each, AC drive via Alstom Saft battery-supercapacitor auxiliary power system

Locomotive Weight

Approx. 80 tonnes per car (160 t per two-car DMU)

Track Gauge

1,435 mm (standard gauge)

Braking Technology

Air brakes + ETCS-ready onboard signalling (ETCS Level 1 commissioning Q4 2026); axle-counter block detection between passing loops

Route Engineering Challenges

  • Single-track operation limiting frequency until ETCS Level 1 signalling is commissioned

  • Volta Lake floodplain approach requiring reinforced embankment through the Adomi basin

  • Shai Hills geological terrain — weathered granite cuts requiring rock-anchor stabilisation

  • Coastal salt-air corrosion on Tema Harbour infrastructure

  • Integration with the planned Ghana–Burkina Faso Interconnectivity Project north extension

  • Rainy-season (May–June) track-bed saturation requiring continuous ballast maintenance

  • Harmattan (December–February) dust haze reducing visibility for level-crossing traffic

  • Lack of electrified catenary in the immediate term — diesel operation only

Fleet

2 Pesa Regio160 DMUs ordered September 2022 (option for 10 more); first arrived April 2024

Route character

97.7 km standard gauge, single-track with passing loops at Afienya, Shai Hills and Kpong; 15 stations planned (4 currently active)

Opening

Presidential inauguration 25 November 2024; commercial operations 1 October 2025

Project

Part of Ghana–Burkina Faso Interconnectivity Project (1,200 km Tema–Ouagadougou planned)

Track structure

Ballastless concrete-sleeper track on prepared embankment; UIC 60 kg/m rail; max gradient 1.2%

Stations active

Tema Harbour, Ashaiman, Afienya, Shai Hills, Doryumu Junction, Akuse Halt, Kpong, Senchi Halt, Adomi (Mpakadan)

Maximum operating speed

120 km/h (DMU design); 90 km/h current timetable

Journey time

~1 h 30 min end-to-end Tema–Adomi

Power supply

Onboard diesel generators; station power via Tema national grid with standby gensets

Booking system

GRDA online booking portal (grda.gov.gh), walk-up at station ticket offices, mobile-money (MTN Mobile Money, Vodafone Cash)

Operator

Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) under Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA) oversight

Languages

English (primary); Twi, Ewe, Ga station announcements on major stops

Currency

Ghanaian cedi (GHS) — approximately 12 GHS = 1 USD (mid-2026)

Ferry connection

Volta Lake ferry from Adomi (Mpakadan) pier to Akosombo — daily crossings subject to lake level

Quick Facts
  • Duration

    1.5 hours

  • Distance

    97.7 km

  • Est. Price

    Affordable — Economy GHS 15 (Tema–Afienya) / GHS 25 (Tema–Kpong) / GHS 40 (full Tema–Adomi); Family Pack GHS 110

Official Booking Provider