Africa – Page 37
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NewsFGC signs Moroccan co-operation agreement
MOROCCO: On February 29 ONCF Director General Mohammed Rabie Khlie signed a six-year co-operation agreement with Enric Ticó, President of Catalunya regional operator FGC, which will see both railways work together to improve efficiency and performance. As well as training, technical assistance and collaboration on projects, maintenance and procurement, the ...
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NewsCairo metro Line 3 opens
EGYPT: The 4∙2 km five-station Phase I of Cairo metro Line 3 was opened on February 21, linking the eastern part of the capital from the city centre.A consortium led by Vinci Construction with Bouygues Travaux Publics, Orascom and Arab Contractors, took 51 months to complete the underground section between ...
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NewsContract signed for final section of new Djibouti - Ethiopia railway
DJIBOUTI: The government has awarded China Railway Construction Corp a contract to build its 100 km section of the new standard gauge railway which will replace the out-of-use metre-gauge line from the coast to Addis Abeba in Ethiopia. Announcing the US$505m contract covering the Djibouti section of the route on ...
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NewsContract awarded for Ethiopian electric railway
ETHIOPIA: The second of three major contracts covering the construction of a 656 km standard gauge railway to replace the out-of-use metre-gauge line linking Addis Abeba with Djibouti has been signed by the government's project promoter Ethiopian Railway Corp. Under the 1·18bn birr deal signed on on December 16, China ...
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NewsWork to begin on Chad rail network
CHAD: Construction of what may be the country’s first railway is set to begin in February, following the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Transport & Civil Aviation and China Civil Engineering Construction Corp on December 24. The US$5·6bn four-year plan covers a 1 364 ...
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NewsChina backs Ethiopian rail project
ETHIOPIA: The government, its project promoter Ethiopia Railway Corp and China Railway Group signed an agreement on October 25 for the construction of a railway to replace the western section of the out of use Chemin de fer Djibouti-Ethopien line. Starting at Sebeta, 25 km from Addis Abeba, the new ...
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NewsCeremony launches Tanger – Casablanca high speed project
MOROCCO: A foundation stone was laid in Tanger on September 29 to mark the start of construction of a high speed line to Casablanca. The ceremony was attended by King Mohammed VI and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, reflecting the close relationship between the two countries which has underpinned the project ...
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NewsPresident marks Benguela revival
ANGOLA: President José Eduardo dos Santos was in Huambo on August 30 to welcome the first passenger train to arrive from Lobito over the latest 380 km section of Caminhos de Ferro de Benguela to be rehabilitated. The line had been out of action since 1975 owing to destruction during ...
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NewsRift Valley funding
AFRICA: A US$165m package of funding towards a US$287m five-year programme of capital investment in the railway linking the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the Ugandan capital Kampala was signed by Rift Valley Railways, the two governments, six development organisations and a local bank on August 4. Now owned by ...
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NewsStandard gauge to Niamey?
AFRICA: The long-held dream that the former Chemin de Fer Abidjan – Niger (RAN) might one day reach the second place in its name has resurfaced, amid suggestions that the metre-gauge line connecting Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso could be converted to standard gauge. The Economic Community ...
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NewsOne on, one off
GUINEA: Construction of a 650 km railway linking planned iron ore mines at Simandou to a new port near Matakang is set to go ahead, after Rio Tinto’s Simfer subsidiary signed a US$700m mining agreement with the government on April 22. The current administration is reviewing all ...
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NewsRabat - Salé tram network launched
MOROCCO: King Mohammed VI visited Rabat-Salé on May 18 to inaugurate the 19·5 km tram network with 31 stops and the 1·2 km Hassan II Bridge which carries the shared central section over the Bouregreg river. The ceremony was attended by local officials, including Lemghari Essaki, Chairman ...
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NewsReturn to Malanje marks Angolan railway revival
ANGOLA: Caminhos de Ferro de Luanda passenger and freight services returned to the city of Malanje after 18 years on January 13, following rehabilitation of the 424 km line from Luanda. Passenger trains are scheduled to take 9 to 10 h with one stop at Ndalatando, and around 300 ...
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NewsONCF orders 14 Duplex high speed trains
MOROCCO: Alstom Transport is to supply national railway ONCF with 14 Duplex high speed trainsets for Tanger – Casablanca services under a contract worth ‘nearly €400m’.The contract, signed in Tanger on December 10, foreshadows the opening of Morocco’s first high speed line between Tanger and Kénitra in December 2015. ...
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NewsMining drives African rail plans
MOZAMBIQUE: Brazilian mining group CVRD has purchased a 51% stake in Sociedade de Desenvolvimento do Corredor do Norte, which has a 51% stake in Corredor de Desenvolvimento do Norte and Central East African Railways. CDN holds the operating concession for the 872 km line from the Indian ...
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NewsHigh temperature locomotives ordered from EMD
MAURITANIA: Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière has awarded Electro-Motive Diesel a contract to supply six SD70ACS heavy haul diesel locomotives with AC traction motors, the manufacturer announced on October 20. To be delivered from late 2011 they will allow the operation of heavier mineral trains through the ...
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NewsChinese funding for Addis Abeba light rail
ETHIOPIA: The Export and Import Bank of China has reached agreement with Ethiopian Railway Corp to finance the proposed light rail project in Addis Abeba. A 30 km T-shaped network is envisaged with one line running from east to west connecting the Ayat roundabout with the Torhailoch ring road. ...
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NewsAngolan railway rehabilitation progress
ANGOLA: A step forward in the rehabilitation of the war-damaged railway network was made with the launch of a twice-weekly freight service on the 190 km Luanda – Dondo route at the end of July. Dondo is the terminus of a branch from the 424 km route from Luana to ...
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NewsTrack machine exports
INTERNATIONAL: US on-track plant manufacturer Harsco Rail announced on August 30 that it had received orders worth US$13m to supply tamping and grinding machines to Bangladesh and Liberia. Bangladesh Railway will receive a Mark VI ballast tamper to support the upgrading of its 1 676 mm gauge ...
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NewsGrant to save DR Congo railway from collapse
DR CONGO: A recovery plan to restore the financial and operational viability of national railway SNCC has been allocated 90% of the funding being made available under a World Bank-backed Multimodal Transport Project. The package is intended to rehabilitate infrastructure and ensure good governance to support economic integration and national ...