The second phase of the reconstruction of the Western railway lines is expected to be hit by a serious challenge created by the activities of illegal miners.

The miners, popularly referred to as galamsey, have taken over long stretch of the railways and completely destroyed rails.

President John Mahama in his interaction with the media on Tuesday announced that the Ghana Railway Company would soon commence the second phase of the reconstruction of the Eastern and Western railway lines.

But the herculean task the company should anticipate is driving away the illegal miners especially on the Obuasi-Dunkwa stretch of the rail lines linked to the Takoradi Habour.

Myjoyonline.com’s visit to some towns in the Adansi South District including Adansi Ampunyasi revealed that, about ten kilometers of the stretch have been mined. The rail structures are dangerously hanging over huge manholes. Some rail bars have been converted into makeshift mining equipment.

Scrap dealers have also been feasting on the apparently abandoned rail lines by the Ghana Railways Authority as they were spotted at the site, carting away transportable bars of metals.

The reconstruction is expected to cost the government extra millions of cedis to fix the railway damaged by the galamsey operators.

The nationwide rail system could best be described as a mess. This is as a result of years of neglect of the sector by successive governments.

In the absence of an efficient rail system, 95 percent of all cargo internally is transported by road, which industry players say has reduced the lifespan of many roads in the country.

The Ghana Railway Company was recently hit by management crisis and workers agitations which led to the closure of that stretch on which timber and minerals from Obuasi, Awaso, Dunkwa and Tarkwa were carted to Takoradi harbour.

Mr. Ben Amofa, Deputy Managing Director in-charge of Engineering at the Ghana Railway Company, told Myjoyonline.com that the company is partnering the Inter-ministerial Task Force on galamsey to flush out the perpetrators.

He believes the new measure will work out for them.

He also revealed that even though the activities of the illegal miners have come to their attention, they seem helpless because the miners appear to be sophisticated than the police who are to enforce the closure of the illegal mines.

Mr. Ben Amofa, Deputy Managing Director -incharge of Engineering