Rail Network description
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Rail Network
General Info
The
land transportation system is a network of railways, roads, and inland
rivers and lakes linked at strategic points so whether domestic or
external, the transport of goods usually requires more than one mode.
The railway network is mainly used for interregional and external transport.
Characteristics of the Railway network
Total usable length:
Decrease from 5,138 km in 1995 to 4,772 km in 2002.
Narrow gauge:
3,621 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); (2002)
125 km 1.000-m gauge; (2002)
1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2002);
3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); (1996)
Rail transport Corridors
South/West
The
main line links Lubumbashi to Ilebo in Kasai-Occidental, where cargo is
normally transferred to barges which travel down the Kasai and Congo
rivers to Kinshasa, although this link now functions sporadically. The
railway transport from Lubumbashi to the Kasai river port of Ilebo
transit by barge transport from Ilebo to Kinshasa, and rail transport
from Kinshasa to the port of Matadi.
The railway line between
Matadi and Kinshasa is run by ONATRA and carries a third of the traffic
between the two cities despite the lamentable state of the competing
road link.
East
The railway of the East with KALEMIE
pass by the Lake TANGANIKA is connected to the railroad of TANZANIA,
thus reaching the seaport of DAR-ES-SALAAM on the Indian Ocean.
South
The
way of the South with SAKANIA where the SNCC is inter-connected with
the railroads of ZAMBIA, of ZIMBABWE, of MOBAMBIQUE and SOUTH AFRICA,
reaches the large ports of the Southern Africa (Maputo, Beira, Durban,
East London and Port Elisabeth).
For the western corridor at DILOLO the SNCC is in connection with the railroad of BENGUELA (CFB) in ANGOLA to the seaport of LOBITO on the Atlantic Ocean. The Benguela railway linking Katanga to the Angolan port of Lobito has been unusable since the 1970s.
In addition to the eastern and southern railways, SNCC also operates connecting truck services and lake transport and has a working relationship with the South African railways, on which it depends for locomotives and rolling stock.
Activities :
Type of document : Info scheet
Country : CD COD 180 Congo, Democratic Republic of
Publication date 2005-Oct-19
