The once-proud Bonsawere railway line, a relic of Ghana’s colonial-era transport network, now lies in a state of ruin and neglect.
Located along the Western Railway Corridor in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality, the line has been overrun by years of illegal mining activities—popularly known as galamsey. Its once-glittering tracks now sit rusted and buried under mounds of sand and gravel washed in from nearby mining sites.
Several sections of the line have caved in, leaving behind deep pits carved dangerously close to the remaining sleepers. Weeds have reclaimed large portions of the abandoned stretch, while stagnant pools from unregulated mining operations continue to erode the track’s foundation.
Each image from the site tells a story of steady decay—from rusted bolts loosening with time to the deep tyre imprints of heavy machinery scarring the very path where trains once rumbled.
What was once a proud symbol of connectivity and progress has now become a haunting reminder of the unchecked destruction caused by galamsey.
