THE Cardiff-based minor works subsidiary of construction group John Mowlem & Co, Hocking Rail, has been awarded a fourth contract for work on Ghana Railway Corp’s western main line serving the port of Takoradi. The US$80000 deal follows three previous projects to assist with track rehabilitation and the acquisition of rolling stock over the past 18 months. A fifth contract is now being negotiated to start next year.
The first three contracts totalling US$634000 have enabled GRC to double its ore traffic, with 1 million tonnes a year now moving from the bauxite mine at Awaso and a similar volume of manganese from Nsuta-Wassaw. The next phase of rehabilitation work covers the port facilities at Takoradi, together with joint refettling and relaying of derailment-prone curves on the main line, working northwards from the coast.
H Mowlem Railways has won a £10m contract from Northern Ireland Railways to relay 18·4 route-km of 1600mm gauge double-track between Belfast and Bangor. To be completed within 27 weeks, the work will see the first use in Northern Ireland of a Harsco tracklaying machine.
