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The Benguela railway is operated by the Caminho de Ferro de Benguela (CFB) that connects the Atlantic port of Lobito, Angola, to the eastern bordertown of Luau and to the rail networks of south-eastern DR Congo, of Zambia and beyond.
Operation
The Benguela railroad has a length of 1344 km in Angola and provides access to the inner part of the country, but achieved its greatest success through linking to the Copperbelts of Katanga province, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia. Investors in the copper mines invested in the railway to export copper via Lobito, made possible by the link in southern Katanga from Tenke junction on DR Congo's Katanga Line to Dilolo and Luau at the border.
Through passenger trains also ran between Lubumbashi and Lobito, connecting with passenger ship services to Europe. This provided a shorter route for Europeans working in the Katangan and Zambian Copperbelt, and the name 'Benguela Railway' was sometimes used loosely for the Lubumbashi-Lobito route not just for the Luau-Lobito section to which it strictly applies.
Through the Katanga link and 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 Benguela 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 initiated between Angola and Zambia to restore operations. The People's Republic of China has provided $300 to $500 million in financial aid to help the reconstruction of the war-damaged railway.
Current operations apparently run between Lobito and Cubal.
Main stations
Accident
In the Tolunda rail accident on September 22,1994 damaged brakes caused a train to plunge into a canyon, killing 300.
See also
External links
- Early History
- BBC report
- 2006 update on construction
- Unofficial timetable of passenger trains (Fahrplancenter)
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