Africa – Page 3
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NewsPrasa reintroduces Gauteng suburban service
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has restarted a limited service on the Germiston – Leralla line in the Johannesburg suburbs. The reintroduction of services on June 27 follows a 14-month blockade to restore vandalised infrastructure. Trains are currently only calling at Leralla, Limindlela, ...
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NewsAlstom to open train cab factory in Morocco
MOROCCO: Alstom is to build a second factory in Fez, where will produce driving cabs for regional and metro trains. This 160m dirham investment is expected to create 200 direct jobs by 2025. Alstom produces electrical wiring and Mitrac transformers at its existing plant in the ...
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NewsLobito Atlantic Railway concession launched
ANGOLA: Operations, management and maintenance of the 1 344 km railway along the Lobito Corridor were formally transferred to the Lobito Atlantic Railway consortium at a ceremony hosted by the Municipal Administration of Lobito on July 4. Present at the event were President of Angola João ...
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NewsDouble-deck coaches find new home in Tanzania
TANZANIA: Tanzania Railways Corp is taking delivery of 30 double-deck passenger coaches formerly used by Deutsche Bahn in Germany. The ex-DB ‘Görlitz’ coaches have been purchased through Lückemeier Transport & Logistik, which is refurbishing then for use in Tanzania. They are suitable for 160 km/h operation, ...
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NewsŠkoda awarded €1bn contract to upgrade and maintain 280 Egyptian locomotives
EGYPT: Škoda Group has signed contracts worth more than €1bn to modernise and maintain at least 280 Egyptian National Railway diesel locomotives. Škoda Group said the two contracts signed on June 26 mark its expansion into Africa. The first covers the overhaul of locomotives over a ...
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NewsMinister blocks Cape Town suburban rail devolution ‘for now’
SOUTH AFRICA: ‘For now we are not in the process of devolving railway services, that is why Prasa is busy building up railway services in the Western Cape’, national Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga told local media during a site visit to Cape Town in May. ...
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NewsWest Africa rail action plan agreed
AFRICA: Transport ministers from Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin and Togo have agreed an action plan for the development of an international rail network. The proposed network connecting the cities of Abidjan, Ouagadougou, Niamey, Cotonou and Lomé would have a total length of 3 034 ...
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NewsCRRC DMUs enter service on Lobito – Benguela line
ANGOLA: Three diesel multiple-units supplied by CRRC Tangshan have entered revenue service on the Lobito – Benguela line. The trains are being used on the Ombaka Express service operated by Caminho de Ferro de Benguela; the Lobito to Benguela journey takes 30 min. An adult ticket ...
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NewsStrait of Gibraltar tunnel plans revived
INTERNATIONAL: Spain and Morocco have agreed to restart the development of proposals for a rail tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar. Studies for an inter-continental fixed-link have been undertaken at intervals over more than 40 years, under the co-ordination of state owned entities Secegsa in Spain ...
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Metro Report InternationalTunis finally opens RFR Line E
TUNISIA: The first section of the RFR dedicated suburban network has opened in the capital.
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NewsAlstom Ubunye opens South African welding school
SOUTH AFRICA: The Alstom Ubunye Welding School in Nigel has opened to provide free professional welding training for unemployed young people. It is accredited by the South African Institute of Welding, and will provide theoretical and practical modules developed under the guidance of industry specialists and ...
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NewsPrasa reaches milestone in Cape Town suburban rail restoration
SOUTH AFRICA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa restarted services on April 4 between Langa and Nyanga on Cape Town’s Central Line.
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NewsAngolan railway expansion project approved
ANGOLA: The government has approved funding for the construction of a 260 km railway to serve the inland provinces of Moxico and Lunda Sul. The Ministry of Transport has been authorised to award a US$1·2bn contract for design and construction of the line to a joint ...
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NewsFreight operator investigates whether ghost trains are haunting its network
SOUTH AFRICA: Transnet has started investigating allegations of ‘ghost trains’ on its network, following reports that services may be operating which are not formally scheduled, with the revenue not flowing back to the national freight operator. In a statement on March 27, Transnet emphasised that ‘these ...
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NewsCAF secures multiple-unit orders from France and Sénégal
INTERNATIONAL: CAF has announced its first order to supply Coradia Polyvalent electro-diesel multiple-units since acquiring the product platform and the Reichshoffen factory from Alstom in August last year. Under the contracts announced on April 3 CAF is to supply 11 four-car Régiolis trainsets ordered by the ...
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In depthAlgeria: Urban projects back on track
Flush with higher revenues from oil and natural gas exports, Algeria has restarted extensions to the capital city’s metro and is unfreezing tram projects that had been put on ice. Christian Scasso reports.
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NewsENSCO to help monitor Gabonese track geometry
GABON: Railway concessionaire Sociéte d’Exploitation du Transgabonais has awarded ENSCO a 12-month contract to provide track geometry measurement services. ENSCO is to supply and install its measuring equipment on one of SETRAG’s existing vehicles. The company will also provide comprehensive training for the SETRAG personnel to ...
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NewsTanzanian training academy planned
TANZANIA: Tanzania Railways Corp has been granted approval to build a training institute on a 74 ha site in Tabora, according to local media reports. TRC will use the facility to focus on developing engineers with railway skills as it continues to develop the country’s 1 ...
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NewsSix 8E locos to receive HVAC upgrade
SOUTH AFRICA: Booyco Engineering has been commissioned to update the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system fitted to the driver’s cabs of six Class 8E locomotives operated by a South African coal producer. The HVAC systems are designed and manufactured at Booyco Engineering’s Germiston facilities. However, the ...
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In depthEgypt: Building a Suez Canal on rails
Siemens Mobility is playing a vital part in construction of a 2 000 km high speed network in Egypt. Siemens Mobility’s CEO for Turnkey, Middle East & Africa Léon Soulier outlines the company’s role, its partnerships, and the impact of this huge investment.