Africa – Page 21
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NewsLorry load limit to boost rail freight
AFRICA: Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority and Zambia Railways Ltd expect to haul 30 000 tonnes/month of fuel from Dar es Salaam to Lusaka as a result of Tanzania’s implementation on March 1 of the East African Community Vehicle Load Control Act, which reduces the maximum weight which can be transported by ...
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NewsUN committee backs Luxembourg Protocol
AFRICA: A committee of experts from African finance, planning and economic development ministries has endorsed the adoption of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol to encourage private investment in railway assets across the continent. Meeting in Marrakech, under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the committee ...
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NewsGhana eastern line concession agreed
GHANA: A US$2·2bn build-operate-transfer concession agreement for the 340 km Accra – Achimota – Koforidua – Bososo – Boankra – Kumasi railway project was signed by the Ministry of Railway Development and Ghana European Railway Consortium on April 4. The agreement must now be approved by the cabinet and parliament. ...
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NewsENR orders 160 km/h Talgo trainsets
EGYPT: Egyptian National Railways has selected Talgo to supply and maintain a fleet of six 160 km/h trainsets at a total cost of around €158m, the manufacturer announced on April 7. Intended to operate inter-city services on ENR’s principal routes linking Alexandria, Cairo and Aswan, the trains ...
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NewsTMH Africa inaugurates South African plant
SOUTH AFRICA: Russian rolling stock group Transmashholding officially inaugurated its first African factory on April 2. The former DCD Rolling Stock plant at Boksburg in Gauteng province was acquired last October by the TMH Africa joint venture of TMH International (70%) and its black economic empowerment partner Mjisa Investments (30%). ...
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NewsCity to take over suburban rail operations in Cape Town
SOUTH AFRICA: The City of Cape Town is planning to take over the operation of local commuter rail services from Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, and has received four bids for a contract to provide consultancy services for the project. The team is expected to have experience in ...
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NewsCape Town seeks suburban rail devolution
SOUTH AFRICA: Plans to transfer the operation of commuter services from Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa to an organisation appointed by the city council were confirmed on March 26 when the city announced that four bids had been received for a tender to provide consultancy services. ...
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NewsTogo railway plan
TOGO: Construction of a 760 km railway from the capital Lomé to Cinkassé on the border with Burkina Faso is included in a national development plan unveiled by the government of Togo. It is envisaged that the line could eventually run to Ouagadougou. State-owned Togo Invest Holding has been tasked ...
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NewsRailways are coming into Ghana in a big way, says President
GHANA: ‘The railways are coming in a big way into Ghana, and we shall open up our country for the development that we all desire’, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said in his state of the nation address last month. He was ‘glad to be able to report’ that services ...
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NewsAlstom commissions second Egyptian interlocking
EGYPT: Alstom has supplied, tested and commissioned a Smartlock 400 computer-based interlocking at Maghagha. This is the second location on the 240 km route running south up the Nile from Beni Suef to Asyut to have its electro-mechanical interlocking replaced by Smartlock 400 under a contract awarded ...
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NewsRail cranes for Congo
CONGO: CRRC Qiqihar has supplied two railway cranes to Chemin de fer Congo-Océan, which will use them for both lifting heavy freight and accident recovery. The cranes were custom designed for the 1067 mm gauge railway, with a compact design to remain within the loading gauge, The ...
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Metro Report InternationalCairo metro bogie drop to reduce downtime
EGYPT: Representatives of the National Tunnels Authority and Cairo metro depot operator Colas Rail recently visited the UK to inspect a bogie drop which Sheffield-based depot equipment manufacturer Mechan is to supply for a depot on Line 3, the Al Thawra line. This will enable bogies to be removed and ...
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NewsAfrican rail summit sets out digital future
AFRICA: The first UIC African Rail Digital Summit which was held in Cape Town on February 25-27 set out an agenda for the digital transformation of railways across the continent. Taking as its theme ‘Africa: the continent of the digital future for rail’, the event was organised by the International ...
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NewsNigerian locomotive order signed
NIGERIA: China Civil Engineering Construction Corp has awarded CRRC Qishuyan a contract to supply diesel locomotives and multiple-units for use in Nigeria. The order covers four NDJ3N diesel multiple-units, two DF7GN shunting locomotives, six DF11GN passenger locomotives and nine DF8BN freight locomotives. The first batch of 10 locomotives is scheduled ...
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NewsDouala tram project poised to launch
CAMEROON: Construction work on a ‘pilot’ 18 km tram route in the rapidly expanding port city of Douala is expected to start during the first half of this year. This follows signature of an agreement announced on January 30 between the government and a consortium led by Iristone Consulting of ...
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NewsTatra-Yug delivers tram to Alexandria
EGYPT: The first of 15 high-floor trams that Tatra-Yug is supplying to Alexandria Passenger Transportation Authority began test running on February 10, having arrived in Alexandria four days earlier. The tram is expected to enter revenue service on the 32 route-km standard gauge network in late February. It is ...
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NewsEl-Qantas tunnel to cut east-west journey times
ALGERIA: Trains have started running through the El-Qantas tunnel, which has been built as part of an ongoing programme to upgrade the Alger – Oran main line for faster speeds. Under construction since 2011, the 7·3 km twin-bore tunnel has been built for railway infrastructure authority ANESRIF by China Railway ...
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NewsLocos arrive in Cameroon
CAMEROON: Bolloré Railways subsidiary Camrail took delivery of five 3 300 hp GE Transportation diesel locomotives at the Port of Douala on January 17. Camrail ordered the locomotives from the USA at cost of FrCFA12·3bn, as part of a deal under which the government of Cameroon has also ordered four ...
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Metro Report InternationalKing opens second Casablanca tram line
MOROCCO: King Mohammed VI officially opened Casablanca’s second tram line on January 23, with revenue services starting the following day. Line T2 runs between Sidi Bernoussi and Aïn Diab. It has a total length of 22·5 km, including 15 km of new alignment and 7·5 km of existing line between ...
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NewsAlstom train makes first run in Dakar
SENEGAL: President Macky Sall was among the invited guests who joined the first test run of an Alstom Coradia Polyvalent multiple-unit in Senegal on January 14. The train’s first run marks a further step in preparations for the opening of the 55 km Train Express Régional rail link between the ...