Passenger services on the Tema–Mpakadan railway line are set to begin on October 1, 2025, the Minister for Transport, Joseph Bukari-Nikpe, has announced.

He said test runs on the 97.7-kilometre standard-gauge line concluded on Tuesday, September 16, paving the way for the official launch of operations.

“We have done a test run on the Tema–Mpakadan rail line, and it ended yesterday. So by October 1, God willing, we will start the first operations from Tema to Mpakadan. We have finished with the test runs and everything is set for us to start operations,” Mr Bukari-Nikpe told journalists at the Government Accountability Series press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, September 17.

The project, constructed by Afcons Infrastructure and financed through a US$447 million credit facility from India’s Export–Import Bank, was inaugurated in November 2024.

It marks the first phase of the Eastern Corridor Railway, intended to link Ghana’s ports to the north and eventually extend to Burkina Faso.

Initial expectations had suggested operations would be delayed until mid-2026 after setbacks, including a test train accident in April 2024 and acts of vandalism on track components.

In May 2025, the Ghana Railway Development Authority reported that about 75 per cent of repair works had been completed. Mr Bukari-Nikpe’s announcement, therefore, provides the first confirmed operational date since the project’s inauguration.

He added that two passenger coaches had already been prepared for the service, which is expected to ease road congestion along the busy Tema–Afienya corridor while providing an alternative mode of transport for commuters and businesses.