| Revision as of 18:05, 1 August 2006 editEkem (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers29,417 edits link to CRC← Previous edit | Revision as of 13:26, 2 August 2006 edit undoEkem (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers29,417 edits catNext edit → | ||
| Line 28: | Line 28: | ||
| * | * | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 13:26, 2 August 2006
The Benguela railway is a railroad operated by the Caminho de Ferro de Benguela (CFB) that connects the Atlantic port of Lobito, Angola, to the eastern bordertown of Luau.
Operation
The Benguela railroad has a length of 1344 km in Angola and provides access to the inner part of the country. Importantly it is linked past Luau to the railroad systems of Katanga province, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia. Through Zambia's connections to Beira and Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean, the Benguela railway is part of a transcontinental railroad. It also connects indirectly to the railroad system of South Africa. In its heydays the Begnuela railway was the shortest way to transport mineral riches from the Congo to Europe.
History
In 1899, the Portuguese government initiated the construction of the railroad to access the hinterland and the mineral wealth of the Belgian Congo. Upon the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, Sir Robert Williams, a friend of Rhodes, took over the construction and completed the connection to Luau at the border to the Congo in 1929. The line proved very successful and profitable for the colonial powers. After independence, the Angolan Civil War brought operations to a halt, and most of the infrastructure is damaged or destroyed. Recently (2005) talks have been intitiated between Angola and Zambia to restore operations.
.
Current operations apparently run between Lobito and Cubal.
Main Stations
Accident
In the Tolunda rail accident on September 22,1994 damaged brakes make a train crash into a canyon and about 300 people get killed.