(Business in Cameroon) - The incivility of some residents along railway tracks delays traffic flows and causes accidents, according to Camrail, concessionaire of railway transport in Cameroon. For instance, the carrier reveals, because of those acts, it takes 4hours and 35 minutes for trains to reach Douala (from Yaoundé) instead of 3 hours and 30 min, representing a delay of about sixty minutes.
This is not the first time Camrail is reporting incivility along its railway tracks. Last year, in collaboration with the NGO Securoute, it organized an awareness-raising campaign to reduce the number of deaths caused by inconsiderate behaviors at level crossings (according to Securoute, Cameroon recorded 29 accidents at level crossings in 2019).
Also, to reduce the number of accidents at these levels, the carrier initiated (with the World Bank’s support) a XAF630 million project for the modernization of level crossings. In that regard, it launched automation at six of those levels, two in Douala and four in Yaounde. Nevertheless, some citizens are still oblivious of the danger of uncivil acts at the level crossings or even along the railway track.
On January 19, in a Facebook post showing a truck trailer crossing the railway track at a spot that is not a level crossing, Thierry Ngongang (Communication manager at Camrail) explained that the scene on the picture he posted was, unfortunately, a usual occurrence along the Cameroonian railway track.
He then reminded that level crossings are created following specific criteria and administrative procedures. Therefore, anytime residents cross the railway where there is no level crossing, they are exposing themselves to sanctions and also risking their lives, he added.
S.A.