Angola railways

 

• 1Ministry of Transport and Communications
  • 1.1Organisation
  • 1.2Freight and passenger operations
• 2Amboim Railway
  • 2.1Organisation
  • 2.2Traction and rolling stock
• 3Benguela Railway
  • 3.1Organisation
• 4Luanda Railway
• 5Namibe Railway

Ministry of Transport and Communications

PO Box 1250-C, Luanda
Tel: (+244 2) 33 77 93/33 77 44
Tx: 3108 Mitrans AN
Key personnel
Minister of Transport: Andre Luis Brandao
Deputy Minister, Transport: Dr A de Sousa e Silva
Direcgao Nacional dos Caminhos de Ferro
PO Box 1250-C, Luanda
Tel: (+244 2) 33 97 94/33 02 33 Fax: (+244 2) 33 99 76
Tx: 3108 Mitrans AN
Key personnel
Director: R M da C Junior
Gauge: 1,067 mm; 600 mm
Route length (four railways combined): 2,648 km; 123 km

[топ]Organisation

Three previously independent railways (the Amboim, Luanda and Namibe Railways) are now amalgamated in a national system, while the Benguela Railway is supervised by the Ministry of Transport but retains its own administration. Because of the country’s continuing guerrilla warfare, the four railways have so far been unable to integrate operations fully or handle international traffic consistently.

[топ]Freight and passenger operations

Despite operating difficulties, in 1991 the four railways carried a total of 3.6 million tonnes of freight, 45.3 million tonne-km. Passenger journeys amounted to 5 million, for 246 million passenger-km. Passenger traffic held up well through to 1993, but freight was 20 per cent down at 2.8 million tonnes.

Amboim Railway

Caminho de ferro do Amboim
Estagao Puerto Amboim
Key personnel
General Manager: A Guia
Gauge: 600 mm
Route length: 123 km

[топ]Organisation

The railway is a single line between the port of Amboim and the coffee-growing region at Gabela. The first 40 km out of Amboim is fully operational, the remainder intermittently so.
Passenger and freight operations
Steam-hauled mixed trains are run when circumstances permit. The main freight commodities carried are timber, agricultural products and coffee. A railcar-operated service also operates intermittently between Amboim and Gabela.
Improvements to existing lines
A partial rehabilitation has been accorded priority, and a new telecommunications system is urgently required.

[топ]Traction and rolling stock

There are six steam locomotives, 12 wooden-bodied coaches and 60 freight wagons, around 50 per cent of which are operational. A Wickham-built railcar is also in service.

Benguela Railway

Companhia do Caminho de ferro de Benguela
Praga 11 de Novembro no 3, Lobito
Tel: (+244 72) 226 45 Fax: (+244 72) 401 33 e-mail: CFB/LOBlTO-rocha@ebonet.net
Key personnel
Chairman: Dr Guilherme Magaihaes Pratas
Administrator and General Manager:
Dr Daniel Joao Quipaxe
Administrator and Commercial Director:
Eng Enesto Alpoim Ferreira da Rocha
Administrators:
Eng Jose Manuel Miranda Vaz de Carvalho
Eng Carlos dos Santos Braz
Cristiano Reis d’Almeida
Gauge: 1,067 mm
Route length: 1,301 km

[топ]Organisation

The Benguela Railway should be a major traffic route to the sea for Zambian and Congolese copper, but the connection from the port of Lobito across Angola to the Congo Democratic Republic border at Dilolo, where it is connected with SNCC, has been disrupted by guerrilla action since 1975.
In late 1996, an Italian company, Tor di Valle, won a contract to reconstruct the out-of-use section of the railway. The company was to be paid by the exploitation of eucalyptus forests. A further move to rehabilitate the line came in 1997, with the awarding of a contract to remove landmines from the Cubal-Kuito section. Work on this started in 1998.
At the end of 1998 the Benguela Railway employed 2,146 staff.
Passenger and freight operations
Regular passenger trains operate over the 33 km coastal line between Lobito and Benguela. In 1998 mixed train operation resumed on a usually weekly basis over the 957 km section between Benguela and Luena. If circumstances permitted, a mixed train was also running between Luena and Luau, near the border with Congo, Democratic Republic, but international services remained suspended.

====Traction and rolling stock

[топ]
In 1998 the active fleet comprised six main line diesel locomotives and two shunters, with the remainder of the tractive stock unserviceable. The line-haul diesels are GE Type U20C. The 10 passenger cars are survivors of 12 second-hand vehicles supplied from South Africa in 1992-93. The railway owns 750 wagons.
Type of coupler in standard use: AAR M201/10A Type of braking in standard use: Vacuum

Track====
Rail: BS 60A/N 30 kg/m, BS 80A 40 kg/m, BS 20A 45 kg/m, CFB 60 30 kg/m
Sleepers: Wood 2,000 x 250 x 140 mm, spaced 1,460/km in plain track, 1,491/km in curves; steel Fastenings: Elastic spike Min curve radius: 100 m
Max gradient: 2%
Max axleload: 15 tonnes

Luanda Railway

Caminho de ferro de Luanda
PO Box 1250-C, Luanda
Tel: (+244 2) 700 61/732 70
Key personnel
Director: A Alvaro Agante
Gauge: 1,067 mm
Route length: 479 km
====Organisation====
The line runs from the port of Luanda to Malanje, serving an iron, cotton and sisal producing region. A branch runs
55 km south from Zenza to Itombe and Dondo. The 600 mm gauge line from Canhoca to Golungo Alto has been closed. Efforts to rehabilitate the system were reported in late 1997, with a US$15 million funding being sought for second-hand locomotives and track work.
Passenger and freight traffic
The main freight flow is of agricultural produce to Luanda, which amounted to 2.5 million tonnes in 1993. Passenger traffic is also.of some-importance, in particular a.suburban service into Luanda from Viana and Baia (36 km).
====Improvements to existing lines

[топ]
Rehabilitation of the line started in 1989, but only a few short sections have been completed. Poor track
conditions and inoperable signalling render train working problematic to the east of N’dalatando.

Traction and rolling stock====
Of the 35 steam locomotives, only one-third is available at any time; these work the Luanda suburban service. The diesel situation is worse, with no more than a few of the 50-strong fleet in operating condition. All four Fiat diesel railcars are out of service. In addition, there are 50 coaches and about 1,800 wagons.

Namibe Railway

Caminho de ferro do Namibe
Caixa Postal 130, Sa de Bandeira, Namibe
Key personnel
General Manager: J Salvador
Gauge: 1,067 mm
Route length: 858 km
====Organisation

[топ]
The Namibe Railway consists of a 756 km line running from Namibe inland to Menongue via Lubango, Matala and Entroncamento. A line of some 150 km linking Lubango with Chiange was destroyed in the war.

Passenger and freight operations=====
In normal times the Cassinga ore fields yielded traffic of some 6 million tonnes annually, but, at last report in late 1994, only the 424 km from Namibe to Matala was in operation and trains were still being affected by military
action. Only some 500,000 passengers were carried in 1993, plus less than 100,000 tonnes of freight.
====Traction and rolling stock====
In 1993 only six or eight diesel locomotives were in operational condition. The programme announced in 1990, under which 11 locomotives, 59 passenger cars and 50 freight wagons were to be rehabilitated, had still not been completed. Currently about 20 coaches are in working order, along with 60 wagons.

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