Railways Act, 2008 (Act 779)

This section establishes the Ghana Railway Development Authority and gives it corporate status and powers to sue, hold property, and make contracts.

The Authority must promote, regulate, and administer railway development and services.

The Minister responsible for railways has responsibility for the Authority and may give it policy directives, which the Authority must follow.

The Authority is governed by an 8-member Board, and the President appoints the members in accordance with article 70 of the Constitution.

The Board must carry out several functions for the Authority, including ensuring effective performance, initiating management policies, and overseeing the Fund.

Board members generally serve for up to three years, may be reappointed, may resign in writing, and can lose office for repeated unexplained absences or by revocation of appointment.

The Board must meet at least every three months, and the chairperson must call an extraordinary meeting when at least one third of members request it in writing.

A Board member with an interest in a matter must disclose that interest in writing and must not take part in the Board’s deliberations on that matter.

The Board may create committees, and a Board member on a committee must be the chairperson.

Board members and committee members are to receive allowances approved by the Minister, after consulting the Minister responsible for Finance.

The Board may make further rules about its sittings, its work, and procedures for handling matters and business before the Authority.

The Authority must have the divisions and units needed to do its work, and when creating them it must focus on railway development, safety and security, and compliance with the Act and related Regulations.

The President appoints the Authority’s Chief Executive Officer, and the CEO serves on the terms in the appointment letter for a term of up to four years, with possible re-appointment.

The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for day-to-day administration of the Authority and may delegate functions, but remains ultimately responsible.

The President must appoint needed staff and a secretary for the Authority, the Authority may engage advisers with Board recommendations, and some public officers may be transferred or seconded to help the Authority.

The Authority must use its funds to pay its expenses, and it must transfer part of any remaining credit to the Consolidated Fund if the Minister for Finance directs it in writing, subject to stated deductions and an exception for the Ghana Development Fund.

The Authority may take loans, borrow funds, open bank accounts, and make investments, but some actions need the Minister for Finance’s approval and some funds must be handled in a specified way.

The Authority must prepare and submit an annual budget to the Minister for Parliament’s approval no later than three months before the end of each financial year.

The Board must keep proper accounts and records in a form approved by the Auditor-General, submit the accounts for audit within three months after year-end, and the Auditor-General must audit and send the report to the Minister within the same three-month period.

The Authority does not have to pay tax on chargeable income from its operations.

The Board must send an annual report to the Minister within one month after the audit report is received, and the Minister must send that annual report to Parliament within one month after receiving it. The Board must also provide any other report the Minister asks for in writing.

This section establishes a Railway Development Fund under the Act.

The Fund’s purpose is to finance railway development and related spending, including railway assets, reports or master-plans, and asset acquisition costs.

This section lists the sources of money for the Fund.

The Board manages the Fund, and a Fund Committee handles day-to-day management and makes recommendations.

The Fund must be used for railway infrastructure, railway safety, and other matters the Board determines.

The Fund Committee must prepare an annual expenditure programme for the next financial year, and the Board must approve it after consulting the Minister responsible for Finance.

Fund money may be spent only on works, goods, and services included in the approved annual expenditure programme.

Money can be withdrawn from the Fund only when a cheque is presented and signed by the required officials.

The Board may assign Authority staff needed to manage the Fund, and those staff are accountable to the Board.

The Authority can authorize people to execute deeds outside Ghana, and certain contracts or instruments may be signed on its behalf by authorized officials.

When this Act commences, railway assets of Ghana Railway Company Limited vest in the Authority, which must keep and manage them and may improve or dispose of them subject to stated limits.

The Authority assumes certain pre-Act liabilities of the Ghana Railway Company Limited, and it may transfer them to a contracting party. The Board may advise on repayment terms for those debts.

A person authorised by the Authority cannot be arrested and removed while performing a railway-safety function if that removal could endanger life or property, until a substitute is provided by the appropriate officer.

Officers, employees, and people acting on their directive are protected from personal civil liability for good-faith acts done to carry out the Act.

The Authority and the Panel may ask any person for information, interview them, and require particulars. People who do not respond, give false or misleading information, or wilfully obstruct the Authority commit an offence and may face fines or imprisonment.

Certain Authority insiders and anyone in the public or private sector must not disclose or misuse section 36 information, and breaches are offences.

Railway construction, operation, management, and rail carriage need a railway licence from the Authority.

A railway licence must state whether the company will operate as a common carrier or a private carrier. Private carriers are exempt from sections 64 to 72 and 75 to 84. A company using another company’s railway, or railway vested in the Authority, must attach specific route details and a written use agreement to its licence application.

The Authority must acknowledge an application, decide and notify the applicant within 120 days, grant a licence if the railway operation is technically suitable, and may refuse for stated grounds; a refused applicant may seek review.

A railway licence can impose conditions on the railway operator, including operational, reporting, payment, and compliance requirements.

A granted licence cannot be transferred unless the Authority gives written approval.

A licence lasts five years and can be renewed on terms set by the Authority.

The Authority may suspend, cancel, or modify a licence, but it must give the licence holder prior written notice and consider any representation or objection before acting.

A railway company must not build a railway line unless the Authority gives written approval, even if the company already has a licence.

The Authority may approve railway line construction if the location is reasonable and relevant railway, local, and affected-person interests are considered.

A railway company may build and alter works needed for its railway, but must reduce damage, pay compensation for property damage, and get consultation and required approvals before using these powers.

The Authority may acquire land for railway use when agreement fails or is unlikely, and the railway company must bear some or all acquisition costs; the normal minimum right-of-way width is 30 meters unless the Authority prescribes otherwise.

The Authority may enter and inspect land needed for a railway, and must give the owner or occupier 48 hours’ written notice before doing so.

A railway company must build and keep accommodation works for adjoining landowners or occupiers during construction, or soon after, unless an exception applies.

A land owner or lawful occupier may ask the railway company in writing to build extra accommodation works, and the cost is allocated differently depending on the type of crossing and the Authority’s determination.

A person must not build or alter a railway, road, or utility line crossing a railway line without written approval from the railway company and express approval from the Authority.

If a person cannot reach a written agreement with a railway company, the Authority may authorise the crossing work on application.

If a person and a railway company cannot agree in writing on crossing-related cost apportionment, either may ask the Authority to determine liability, and the Authority must consider benefits and other relevant factors.

A railway company may apply to the Authority for permission to use another railway company’s land, track facilities, or railway line, if it is doing so to provide railway services.

The Authority may grant a section 55 right, set conditions or make orders about it, and fix compensation if the railway companies do not agree.

A railway company may enter adjoining land in specified safety situations, must notify the Authority within seven days after doing so, and must pay the cost of any Authority action taken because of its neglect or unsatisfactory action.

A railway company must pay compensation for loss suffered by an adjoining land owner or lawful occupier when it uses a section 57 power.

The Minister may make regulations, by legislative instrument, for railway works, road crossings, utility crossings, and railway equipment.

The Authority must appoint railway safety and security inspectors from its staff, set their qualifications, and publish each appointment in the Gazette; inspectors must enforce the Act and Regulations and do any other task the Authority directs for railway passenger or goods safety.

A Railway Safety and Security Inspector may inspect railway premises, question staff, make inquiries about railway-related things, and require staff to appear or submit returns by written notice.

A railway company must immediately report any accident that occurs during its operations to the Police and give notice of it to the Authority.

The Authority may order an inquiry into an accident, and the inquiry expenses are shared equally between the Authority and the railway company involved.

A railway company must charge the passenger or freight rate set out in a Board-approved tariff that it has issued and published, subject to section 69.

A tariff must include specified information such as rates, traffic description, origin and destination, route details, dates, terms and conditions, and symbol explanations.

Railway companies must display tariffs, give copies on request for no more than copying cost, keep tariff records for at least three years after cancellation, and give 21 days’ notice before increasing freight or passenger rates.

A railway company must issue a tariff within 30 days after a shipper requests it. If a trip crosses a continuous route run by two or more railway companies, the companies must agree on a joint tariff and how the rate is shared.

If a shipper provides railway equipment for its traffic, the railway company must, on the shipper's request, set specific compensation in the tariff.

A railway company may make a confidential contract with a shipper about certain rates, rebates, traffic conditions, and service-obligation details.

A railway company must not unfairly discriminate among shippers in rates or services, but may differentiate based on shipment volume or value, or other generally accepted commercial and industry bases.

A person who pays the proper fare and meets the stated conditions is entitled to a ticket and to be carried as a passenger by the railway company.

Passengers who pay the appropriate tariff rate may give luggage to an authorised railway employee for carriage and may obtain a receipt. Railway luggage is carried on conditions made known to the passenger.

A railway company is liable for passenger death, injury, or other bodily or mental harm caused by a railway accident, and for loss of luggage and personal articles, unless the loss or harm resulted from the injured party’s fault or circumstances beyond the company’s control.

A railway company is not liable for loss caused by passenger delays in the specified train or vehicle failure or lateness cases.

A railway company must provide suitable facilities and services for goods traffic, and may still have to do so even if payment comes later under an agreement.

A railway company is generally not liable for certain loss, damage, or delay in goods, but it remains liable where the loss is caused by its own negligence or recklessness and in some special handling situations.

A railway company is not liable for loss, damage, or delivery delay unless written notice of the loss or damage is received within 120 days after delivery of the goods.

A railway company is generally not liable for loss, damage, or delay to goods stopped in transit at the request of an entitled person, unless the company was negligent.

An originating railway company is liable for loss, damage, or delay to goods when more than one carrier is involved, and it may recover amounts it paid from another carrier.

This section says how to calculate railway-company liability for loss or damage to goods, and lets the Authority set a liability limit by regulation when the goods’ value is not declared.

A railway company is not liable for loss or damage to extraordinary-value goods it transports if the shipper did not disclose the goods’ value in writing before shipping.

A railway company is not liable for damage to dangerous goods if the shipper did not disclose the goods in writing before shipping; but the railway company and shipper are jointly liable to third parties for damage caused by such goods.

If unclaimed goods come into the railway company’s possession, it must notify the apparent owner or entitled person, may sell the goods in some cases, and must pay any surplus to the person legally entitled to it.

This section allocates risk for carload goods moved to or from places where the railway company has no agent.

A person must not obstruct or endanger railway safety, help someone do so, use unsafe materials or defects, supply unsafe stores or instruments, endanger railway vehicles, commit terrorism on railway operations, or interfere with safety signals and equipment.

This section creates offences for damaging or interfering with railway lines, trains, signals, and related property, and for unsafe conduct on trains and railway premises.

A person who takes or delivers explosives or other dangerous goods involving a railway company must disclose possession of the goods, or commits an offence.

A railway company employee must not demand, ask for, or take more or less than the amount charged for a service or item of value.

Railway company employees must not cause or help create dangerous situations, and they must not neglect duties or ignore rules; breaches can lead to criminal penalties and company discipline.

A railway company employee on duty must not be under the influence of alcohol or a narcotic drug in the listed railway locations.

A railway company employee commits an offence if found under the influence of alcohol or a narcotic drug while on duty in certain safety-sensitive railway roles.

Railway employees suspected of alcohol or drug impairment must undergo a test by an authorised officer.

A railway company must dismiss an employee who is convicted of an offence under this Act.

A person dissatisfied with an act or omission of the Authority may complain to the Authority for redress, and the Authority may grant relief.

A factual finding or determination by the Authority while implementing the Act can be appealed or reviewed under sections 100 to 104, and then to the court.

If the Authority receives a complaint, it must determine the matter within 14 days unless an extension is applied for by either or both parties.

The Authority may monitor railway equipment, and it must decide damage disputes and pay fair compensation. A railway company that damages the Authority’s equipment must restore it and pay compensation. People may still complain, seek review, or sue after the initial complaint or review hearing.

The Authority must not operate or manage a railway company or railway services.

This section sets up the Railway Complaints, Appeals and Review Panel and sets rules for its membership, quorum, appointments, fees, and review process.

Complaints and review requests must first be made to the Authority, which must investigate and respond in writing within 21 days, unless the complainant agrees in writing to a longer period.

The Panel may review and determine certain railway-related matters, and it must notify the Authority when it receives a complaint.

The Railway Complaints and Review Panel has the same powers as the Authority under section 36 and must follow section 37.

The Minister may revise, amend, substitute, or annul an act or decision, unless the matter has already been conclusively dealt with by the Panel.

A person has the right to seek review of a decision of the Panel.

If the Authority or Panel receives a complaint, it must deal with it within 60 days. The Panel may review its own decisions on request for a justifiable reason, and the Minister or Authority cannot review or alter Panel decisions.

The Minister may make regulations and rules about railway licensing, railway operations, accident notices, liability limits, complaint fees, and panel procedure, but only with Board recommendation or advice.

This section defines terms used in the Act, such as “assets,” “Authority,” “Board,” “Chief Executive,” “railway,” and “railway company.”

This section repeals the Ghana Railway Corporation Decree, 1977 and revokes the Ghana Railway Corporation (Tariff) Regulations, 1981.

This section keeps the Ghana Railway Company operating during the transition, treats certain staff as appointed by the Authority, and gives the Authority planning and inquiry powers for railway studies and master-plans, subject in some cases to the Minister’s approval.