Rail transport in Angola
Rail transport in Angola consists of three separate
History
Railway construction began in Angola in 1887, while the country was a colony of
When the fighting ended, the Angolan government sought to restore service on the railways. Contracts were awarded to the state-owned
Statistics
- total: 2,761 km
- narrow gauge: mainly 2,638 km of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) (Cape gauge)
- there is also 123 km of 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge(2002)
Links with neighbouring countries
The
Towns served by rail
Specifications
Rolling stock
Type | Manufacturer | Notes | Source |
---|---|---|---|
CKD8F locomotive | CNR Dalian , Dalian, China |
[6] | |
SDD6A locomotive | CSR | [7] | |
C30ACi locomotive | GE Transportation | [8] | |
CRRC DMU | CRRC Tangshan | 10 DMUs delivered | [9] |
CSR passenger coach | CSR | [10] | |
CSR box wagon | CSR | [11] | |
CSR open wagon | CSR | [12] | |
CSR tank wagon | CSR | [13] |
Railways rehabilitation and modernization programme
After the end of the civil war, the government could start to plan both the rehabilitation of the "network" inherited from the colonial power and largely destroyed by the civil war, and its extension by building new lines, interconnecting the existing lines and connecting with all neighbouring countries. If and when completed, this would result in a grid of three east–west lines and three north–south lines, linking all 18 provinces to the railway network. This plan is known also by the name Ango-Ferro.[14][15]
New institutional framework
Related to the program to rehabilitate the network inherited from colonial times and the project to build new lines, the institutional framework of railway operations was changed in a series of presidential decrees in 2010.[16]
As the public administrator to oversee, regulate, certify and licence railway companies, infrastructure and rolling stock, the Instituto Nacional dos Caminhos de Ferro de Angola (INCFA – National Institute for Railways in Angola) was created out of the Directorate of Terrestrial Transport within the transport ministry.
All railway infrastructure, lines, tracks, stations, and maintenance facilities were declared to be in the public domain and controlled by the state. The three railway companies became Empresa publica (E.P.), government-operated enterprises reporting to the transport ministry. The infrastructure was separated from the operation of the trains, opening up the possibility that private companies could run trains in the future.[17]
Technical integration with SADC countries
Most railways in the SADC (
The Southern African Railways Association (SARA) is the body for this standardisation. The three Angolan railway companies are members of SARA.
Lobito Atlantic Railway
In 2023, a joint venture was formed to invest in the Benguela railway corridor, upgrading infrastructure and services. There are plans to transport ore from mines in the Congo, and to extend services into Angola.[18]
Planned new lines
As at 2012, the plan involves eight new lines:[14][19]
This section needs to be updated.(October 2022) |
Caminho de Ferro do Congo
This line would start at downtown Luanda and reach the
In an earlier document from the transport ministry, there was a border crossing to DRC planned further up-stream, where the Congo river is not so wide and where the DRC/Angola border moves away from the river bank, i.e. at Noqui (Angola) and Matadi (DRC).[15]
Link with Zambia
This would branch off the
Western link to Namibia
This link of probably 343 km would start from the
Lobito-Dar es Salaam Railway
Extension of the Luanda railway to Saurimo
The Luanda railway would be extended beyond Malanje by 527 km via Caculama, Xá Muteba, Capenda, Camulemba, Cacolo, to Saurimo in Lunda Sul province. There it would link with the Eastern north–south line, specified in the next section. A feasibility study is pending [when?].
Transversal do Leste (Eastern transversal)
This new line would extend 1353 km from north to south, beginning at the border with the DRC at
This would extend the existing line by about 180 km beyond the current end point Menongue via Longa to Cuito Cuanavale where it would connect with the Transversal do Leste. A feasibility study is pending[when?].
Transversal Norte-Sul (North-South transversal)
This central north–south line of 896 km in length would start at
Interconnection of the three historic lines
This new line of 589 km would start as an extension of the existing Dondo branch of the Luanda railway, and go south via
This line would create a direct rail link from the capital Luanda to Angola's second city Huambo and to Namibia.
Implementation
Speaking to the press in July 2012, on the occasion of the coming opening of the reconstructed CFB line to
See also
References
- ^ The Geographical Digest (1963 ed.). George Philip and Son. 1963. p. 69.
The 95 km. extension of the Mocamedes Railway from Cuchi to Serpa Pinto was inaugurated in December 1961. The railway, which uses the gauge of 3' 6", now has a total length of 754 km.
- ^ Foreign agricultural economic report: Angola. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. 1961. p. 9.
The Mocamedes Railway extends only as far as Menongue (former Serpa Pinto), but could be extended to Zambia.
- ^ Maykuth, Andrew (16 October 1997). "Victim Of War May Yet Chug Again". Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ "China Construction Hyway delivers Moçâmedes railway reconstruction project in Angola". Macauhub. 14 September 2015.
- ^ "FIRST CFB TRAIN REACHES LUAU". Railways Africa. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
- ^ "CNR Dalian locomotives arrive in Angola". Railway Gazette. 13 August 2012.
ANGOLA: CNR Dalian has delivered the first five of 15 diesel locomotives ordered last year. Rated at 1715 kW, the 1067 mm gauge CKD8F locomotives have a top speed of 160 km/h and feature air-conditioned cabs and dust filters for use in the desert environment.
- ^ "SDD6A diesel locomotive". Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
- ^ "CFM takes delivery of GE locomotives". Railway Gazette. 2 February 2014.
- ^ "CRRC completes Angolan DMU deliveries".
- ^ "Passenger Coach for Angola". Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
- ^ "Box Wagon for Angola". Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
- ^ "Open Wagon for Angola". Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
- ^ "Tank Wagon for Angola". Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Projectos". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ a b Presentation of Ing. José Luyindula of GCL on the project Ango-Ferro
- ^ "Documents on the reform of Angola railway institutional framework". Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
- ^ "Government wants private operators in railway sector". Railways Africa. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ https://www.trafigura.com/press-releases/transfer-commences-of-the-concession-of-railway-services-and-support-logistics-of-the-lobito-corridor-in-angola-to-the-lobito-atlantic-railway/
- ^ Lourenço, Manuel João (20 June 2011). "Projecto de reabilitação e modernização dos caminhos de ferro de Angola" [Project to rehabilitate and modernize the Angolan railways] (in Portuguese). Instituto Nacional dos Caminhos de Ferro de Angola (INCFA)/Angolan transport ministry. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ Africa, Railways (27 July 2015). "NORTHERN ANGOLAN RAIL LINK-UP". Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ Africa, Railways (28 July 2015). "ANGOLA-NAMIBIA LINK". Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ "Carruagens do CFB avançam para Leste" [CFB wagons advance towards the East]. Jornal de Angola (in Portuguese). Edições Novembro. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.