Gov’t plans Accra-Kumasi high speed rail - our Honorables (vulnerables) at work E. Ablorh-Odjidja March 30, 2015 No story illustrates more how vulnerable, as a nation, we have become.  Ideas that will keep bankrupt us and keep us poor suddenly become attractive.  The sudden wish to own a high-speed rail line - a Bullet Train that travels between Accra and Kumasi within one and a half hours – is one such impoverisher. To do this railroad, a $30 billion budget is being eyed by the Ghana government for the project.  Until recently, this project had no perceivable urgency or priority.  But suddenly, it has become venture has become a subject of a very high interest. The project has been green lighted - already moved beyond the thought stage to the actionable point where an investor banker has been invited to Ghana to start planning a Request for Proposal (RFP), according to a reputable web publication on international banking.   The average citizen of Ghana would call this venture insane, considering our current basic infra-structural challenges and the enormous absurdity of the idea and its cost. But first, why should we spend $30 billion on an infrastructure so we can get to Kumasi in one and half hours when we already have the option for flying there faster for less? The answer, according to the Minister of State in charge of Public-Private Sector, Rashid Pelpuo, “the bullet-train from Accra to Kumasi will allow traffic to arrive from Accra to Kumasi in less than 1.4 hours from station to station.” Skyscrapper.com, March 27, 2015.   Intriguing reason, howbeit absurd.   However, the minister moves on to embellish his proposal with other ideas such as Transit Oriented Development zones. “The RFP will cover a 120,000 square metre transit-oriented development (TOD) in Accra plus a 65,000 square metre TOD in Kumasi. Each TOD will include shopping, public and private parks and gardens, office towers, a hotel with conference spaces, and the balance being residential towers (1,000 units) with full amenities.” And you note suddenly that these amenities are included in the overall package for the Bullet Train development only to increase the selling worth of the larger plan. The project could be completed in 10 years at the presumed cost of $30 billion.   Assuredly, 99.9% of this money would go to purchase expertise, material and equipment, all of which of course will be foreign.  While this will enrich others, it may impoverish us since the cost is already about two-third the size of our current GDP.   How this sudden huge expenditure, can help our economy is intriguing. Mr. Lawrence J. Selevan, the CEO of the Investment Bank Chesterfield Faring Ltd, assigned to the RFP process is, perhaps, already smiling.  He is already sold on the presumed worth of the idea.  The rest of his job is to get the country to go along with him. Mr. Selevan says, “I believe that Ghana is ready for a state-of-the-art mass transit system that will speed up the commute for millions of everyday citizens in both Accra and Kumasi.”   He continues, “Also, the US$30 billion should have a 3.0-3.5 multiplier effect -- increasing immediate economic activity to almost US$100 billion before end of the decade, as well as the aftermath of the investment, increasing GDP by almost 3% per annum…." Of course, the $30 billion bet will not come from Mr. Selevan's pocket. He stands to reap a hefty fee after the RFP is written; and as always from a country that is ready and eager to be taken.    The high-speed train technology is about fifty years old. The age itself is not as important as the geometric difference between the technology and our ability to use it effectively, a matter which Mr. Selevevan will also not consider.   The special rails, sleek aerodynamic design and all those things that make the high speed possible are not things that the current state of our affairs can easily handle.  Indiscipline in our society and at road crossings cannot assure safety of passage for the train.     In Japan, the home and masters of the speed train, one writer describes the service as, "There are no railroad crossings, no changes of the right-of-way, and limited stops on the route."   One look at our new Bush Highway and the number of accidents and deaths that occur on these fast transit way should serve as a cautionary tale.  This is not to say miracles don't happen.  But I don’t expect this to happen suddenly to a high-speed train speeding through our rural backyards.   The Bullet Train means, at least, safety in transportation in Japan.  But will it be the same in Ghana?  For instance, how do you secure the long stretch of speeding electrified rails from foot traffic and other unsanitary excursions?  There are no Bullet Trains in the United States.  So now we have to wonder about the development plan Mr. Selevan, an American, is pushing for Ghana, a Third World country.   But our Mr. Pelpeo has vouched for Mr. Selevan.  "The plan," Mr. Pelpuo says, "sought out the best firm with the greatest vision to improve the everyday lives of all of our citizens through an improved affordable transit system."   Why has it yet to occur to the Minister that a plan grabbing this big chunk of our GDP is not affordable? A Bullet train can never be an affordable transit system for the poor or the small towns and villages that line up the Accra-Kumasi transit corridor, if it is meant to make money as Mr. Selevan has promised.   A high-speed train service that will fly past these small towns and villages, of cash and carry entrepreneurial types, cannot yield from this group $2 billion more annually to boost our GDP, even if the “metre transit-oriented development” plan were to be included. Frankly, the numbers are not there to support the enthusiasm drummed up for this transit project. Chances are, even when the Bullet Train is completed, fully paid for and operational, we will still be highly dependent on foreign expertise, at increasing cost for services like those for maintenance, security and safety measures that currently will not be listed in the RFP.   We inherited a functioning railway system at independence. Rudimentary as the engines were then, we ran the system to the ground for lack of maintenance.    Now, we are demanding the finest and perhaps the most exclusive service type in the railway world. Somebody ought to tell us first how we got so quickly to this point.   Be pretty certain that the Ministry of Transportation of Mr. Pelpeo is not even worried about the universe of potholes and the poor conditions of trucks that cause deaths on our current decrepit road system. Fifty years ago, a three-hour journey by road from Accra to Kumasi was possible.  Because of congestion on our roads, due to population growth, it now takes more than twice the time to do the same journey.   A good three lane highway, in each direction, should bring back the journey to Kumasi closer to three hours again.  Those who need to get there faster should fly and save us the huge $30 billion investment cost for the Bullet Train.  E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Publisher www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC, March 30, 2015. 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