Sierra Leoneans optimistic: ARISE Passenger trains will reduce road crash, boost agriculture, and promote tourism

By: Alhaji Manika Kamara

Fatmata Maria Kamara, staff at the Makeni Government Hospital Library, is optimistic that the introduction of passenger trains by ARISE will help to reduce road crashes on the highways while driving to and from the provinces and help save lives.

Fatmata was sharing her thoughts on the possible re-introduction of passenger trains that will be plying across various districts if the Government of Sierra Leone honors it agreement with ARISE for the development, expansion, and management of the Pepel Port and Rail. 

She said the passenger train will help to ameliorate the suffering of the masses, especially as the pump price continues to increase. She said with the passenger train, people will have to pay less, and the fear of road accidents will be minimized. She appealed to the government and investors to ensure provisions are made for the masses to have access based on affordable train tickets.

Ahmad Wurie Jalloh, a businessman, explained that he only saw photos of the model passenger train on social media which he is yet to be convinced about, considering the huge cost involved in constructing a passenger rail transport. 

However, he said if there is a vision and a will it can be done. If constructed, he said the passenger train will reduce the cost of transportation across the country, particularly for business people who are spending a lot of money to transport their goods/produce.

“The passenger train will help connect the regions and make the movement of people and goods cheap, easy, safe, and swift,” he said and added that it will also boost agriculture across the country linking farmers to markets.

However, Ahmad expressed serious concern about the issue of maintenance, the lack of which has become a culture in Sierra Leone.

Ahmad further called on the security sector to be vigilant as drug traffickers will want to use it as an opportunity to travel with the drugs faster and easily without security checkpoints. 

He urged the government to support the project as a way of alleviating the suffering of the masses traveling from one district to another and easy transportation of agricultural produce.

He also called on investors to work closely with the government to ensure the sustainability of the project.

“Sierra Leone needs more than three or four passenger trains to ease transportation challenges across the country,” said Ahmad, “This will boost tourism and businesses across the country. Most people will love to experience a train ride especially those that are yet to travel abroad to experience one.”

The acting Principal of Bailama Memorial Junior Secondary School, Mateboi, Amada Chebeh Bangura, was concerned about the sustainability of the project. 

He maintained that it will be an advantage for school pupils and students who might want to quickly visit their relatives out of the district they are studying without missing classes.

Adama Tarawally, a farmer in Port Loko district, disclosed that she heard about the passenger train during the campaign period when President Julius Maada Bio was officially launching the ARISE Special Economic Zone project. 

He recalled that the President assured the people he would provide more than 50 companies within Port Loko district as well as introduce passenger trains.

Adama prayed that the project would come to reality, as she believed it would greatly support farmers and business people along the routes it would be plying across the country who she claimed often suffer losses due to lack of easy and timely access to markets.

She called on the government to support the project as it was a promise by the President to support the farmers, especially in line with the Feed Salone manifesto promise which is the flagship program at the moment. 

She also called on Parliament to speedily ratify the ARISE Port and Rail agreement that was signed with the Government in January this year.

Residents in Port Loko district expressed appreciation over the news of the passenger train that is expected in the country within the shortest possible time, stating that they will now be using trains to travel as they already have a train line passing through their district.

“We will be one of the hosts and first users of this facility,” he said and urged the government to stick to their signed agreement with ARISE on the Rail and Port for consistency and sustainable development.

Paramount Chief Bai Bompa Komboli III, expressed profound gratitude to the communities and institutions that participated in the programme, reflecting on President Bio's commissioning of the project back in April 2023, he however, acknowledged the crucial role played by ARISE IIP on the transformative journey. 
 
Paramount Chief Komboli III extended his heartfelt gratitude to President Bio for facilitating this opportunity, paving the way for a brighter and more prosperous future. He reiterated his commitment to fostering unity and collaboration among all stakeholders.

‘’We want to thank the government and ARISE IIP for this initiative. At first I was kind of worried, but when I consider the strategic location of our chiefdom - sharing boundaries with the south, east, north and west I felt it is a great project for our people and entire country. I welcome this project as it would provide jobs for my people, especially for the youth. The project will reduce crime rate and unemployment. I thank President Bio for the opportunity presented to our country,” he said. 

Amb. Anthony Navo Jr. said; ‘’The project aims to stimulate local production, reduce dependence on imports, and create various factories, including a Pharmaceutical Facility, Rice Meal Factory, Tile Production, Paint Manufacturing, and a power plant to provide electricity to the Industrial Zone, the community, and the country. The ultimate goal is import substitution, where goods are produced locally and made available for sale both domestically and abroad.’’
 
Experts estimate first phase of the project to cost approximately $410m, encompasses over 40 factories, contributing significantly to the economic growth of the region.

According to him, the first phase of the project is expected to generate approximately 34,000 job opportunities within 24 months and it progresses into its second and third phases, employment opportunities are set to increase, underscoring the crucial role of collaborative efforts in bringing the project to fruition.