Summary
Content
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).
West
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.