Congo Railroad Company
Encyclopedia
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. Because of a civil war
Congo Civil War
Congo Civil War may refer to:* In the Kingdom of Kongo:**Kongo Civil War * In the Republic of the Congo :**Republic of the Congo Civil War...
, the railway was not functioning from 1998 until June 29, 2004. During the war, 500 km of railway in the provinces of Maniema
Maniema
Maniema is a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Kindu.Following the 2005 Constitution , 25 new provinces were to be created from the 10 current provinces within 36 months . As of October 2010, this had not taken place...
and Katanga
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
were destroyed. A million dollar grant from the United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance is helping to pay for the section's repair. Charities often use the railway to distribute food and other supplies. Despite foreign support, SNCC was again on the brink of collapse in 2010; to prevent this, in June 2010 the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
gave a 255 million USD grant.
The Matadi-Kinshasa Railway
Matadi-Kinshasa Railway
The Matadi-Kinshasa Railway is a railway line in Bas-Congo Province between the port of Matadi and Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo.The Matadi-Kinshasa Railway was built from 1890 to 1898...
is operated by ONATRA
Office National des Transports (Congo)
The Office National des Transports is a publicly owned company, based in Kinshasa, which operates railways, ports and river transport in the north and west of the Democratic Republic of Congo.- History :...
, under an agreement with the CNC.
Network
For more detail, see Transport in DR CongoRailways
3,641 kilometres (of which 858 kilometres electrified) in KatangaKatanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
, Kasaï-Occidental
Kasai-Occidental
Kasai-Occidental is one of the ten provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It borders the provinces of Bandundu to the west, Équateur to the north, Kasai-Oriental to the east, and Katanga to the southeast. To the south it borders the country of Angola...
, Kasaï-Oriental
Kasai-Oriental
Kasai-Oriental is one of the ten provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It borders the provinces of Kasai-Occidental to the west, Équateur to the northwest, Orientale to the northeast, Maniema to the east, and Katanga to the south. Kasai-Oriental is one of the richest diamond producing...
and Maniema
Maniema
Maniema is a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Kindu.Following the 2005 Constitution , 25 new provinces were to be created from the 10 current provinces within 36 months . As of October 2010, this had not taken place...
.
Rail gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
:
- LubumbashiLubumbashiLubumbashi is the second largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, second only to the nation's capital Kinshasa, and the hub of the southeastern part of the country. The copper-mining city serves as the capital of the relatively prosperous Katanga Province, lying near the Zambian border...
to IleboIleboIlebo, formerly known as Port-Francqui, is a town in Kasaï District in the Democratic Republic of Congo, lying at the highest navigable point of the Kasaï River. As such, it is an important transport hub for ferries to Kinshasa and trains to Lubumbashi....
Only remaining weekly through passenger train is timetabled to take six days. Agreement signed in September 2007 for China to fund an extension to Kinshasa. - KaminaKaminaKamina is a city in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located at around . It is the provincial capital.- Transport :...
to KinduKinduKindu is a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the capital of Maniema province. It has a population of about 200,000 and is situated on the Congo River at an altitude of about 500 metres, and is about 400 km west of Bukavu.... - Tenke (a siding on the Lubumbashi to Ilebo mainline) to DiloloDiloloDilolo is a town and territory in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies within five miles of the eastern bank of the Kasai River, the DRC-Angolan border, and the Angolan town of Luau, at an altitude of 3510 ft . The town is served by Dilolo Airport.- External links :*...
(AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
border at LuauLuau (Angola)Luau is a town in central Cuanza Sul Province of Angola. It lies at an altitude of 1501 metres ....
, rail has connection to the still not fully operational Benguela Railway ending at LobitoLobitoLobito is a town and municipality in Benguela Province in Angola.It dates from 1905 and owes its existence to the bay of the same name having been chosen as the sea terminus of the Benguela railway to the far interior, passing through Luau to Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The...
on the Atlantic Ocean.) - KabaloKabaloKabalo is one of a number of towns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with this name. This one is in the east, in Tanganyika District.- Transport :Kabalo is the junction of railway lines to the north and to Lake Tanganyika in the east....
to KalemieKalemieKalemie, formerly Albertville/Albertstad, is a town on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is next to the exit of the Lukuga River flowing out from Lake Tanganyika to the Lualaba River....
Rail gauge :
- UbunduUbunduUbundu, formerly known as Ponthierville or Ponthierstad, is a city located in Tshopo District in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is on the Congo River, just above the Boyoma Falls...
to KisanganiKisanganiKisangani is the capital of Orientale Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the 3rd largest urbanized city in the country and the largest of the cities that lie in the tropical woodlands of the Congo....
(portage railwayPortage railwayA portage railway is a short and possibly isolated section of railway used to bypass a section of unnavigable river or between two water bodies which are not directly connected...
)
Lakes and rivers
- Lake TanganyikaLake TanganyikaLake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...
1,425 kilometres, linking DRC with ZambiaZambiaZambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and BurundiBurundiBurundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
; - Lake KivuLake KivuLake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, a part of the Great Rift Valley. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika...
106 kilometres, linking BukavuBukavuBukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo , lying at the extreme south-eastern extent of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the Sud-Kivu province and as of 2009 it had an estimated population of...
with GomaGomaGoma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the western branch of the Great Rift Valley, and Goma lies only 13 to 18 km due south of the crater of the active... - Congo RiverCongo RiverThe Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
310 kilometres, from KinduKinduKindu is a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the capital of Maniema province. It has a population of about 200,000 and is situated on the Congo River at an altitude of about 500 metres, and is about 400 km west of Bukavu....
to UbunduUbunduUbundu, formerly known as Ponthierville or Ponthierstad, is a city located in Tshopo District in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is on the Congo River, just above the Boyoma Falls...
, and 390 kilometres from KongoloKongoloKongolo is a town in Tanganyika District in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.It is located on the west bank of the Lualaba River, the largest headstream of the Congo River. It has 62 455 inhabitants.- Transport :...
to Malemba-Nkulu.
Ports
- Ilebo river port (Kasai RiverKasai RiverThe Kasai River is a tributary of the Congo River, located in central Africa. The river begins in Angola and serves as the border between Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo , then flows into the DRC, where it joins the Congo northeast of Kinshasa. The Kasai's tributaries include the...
) - KalemieKalemieKalemie, formerly Albertville/Albertstad, is a town on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is next to the exit of the Lukuga River flowing out from Lake Tanganyika to the Lualaba River....
and Kalundu (Lake Tanganyika) - Bukavu and Goma (Lake Kivu)
See also
- Congo-Ocean RailwayCongo-Ocean RailwayThe Congo–Ocean Railway links the Atlantic port of Pointe-Noire with Brazzaville, a distance of 502 kilometres...
- Transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- South African Class 32-000South African Class 32-000Between November 1959 and November 1961 the South African Railways placed one hundred and fifteen Class 32-000 GE U18C1 diesel-electric locomotives in service in South West Africa.- Manufacturer :...
External links
SNCC official website- IRINNews: Christian charity begins railroad rehabilitation
- Chinese to plug Ilebo – Kinshasa gap in DR Congo Railway Gazette International October 2007