Both the government of Gabon and Société d’exploitation du Transgabonais (SETRAG) have signed an agreement that will foresee the Second Phase of Trans-Gabon Railway Modernization.
This 648-kilometer railway links the capital Libreville on the Atlantic coast with the city of Franceville in the southeast of the Central African country.
The modernization work will be carried out on the sections from Ndjolé to Alamba and from Mvengué to Franceville.
The modernization works will entail laying of brand new rails that will be weighing 60 kg/m to replace the old 50 kg/m rails, also replacing wooden sleepers with two-block concrete ones.
Cost of the Second Phase of Trans-Gabon Railway Modernization Project
This modernization project is expected to cost a whopping 359 billion CFA francs ($580 million). Of the total amount, 130 billion CFA francs will be provided by the Gabonese government, and the other remaining 220 billion CFA francs will be provided by SETRAG.
The modernization works are expected to be completed by the year 2028.
Furthermore, the Gabonese government will provide funding to the purchase of new passenger rolling stock.
1st Phase of the Railway Modernizaion
The first phase of modernization, which is nearing completion, entailed the reconstruction of the section from the Owendo port, located south of Libreville, to Ndjolé in the central part of the country.
During this first phase, a total of 300 km of track was renewed and 225 km of new rails were laid. The cost of the first phase was valued at a total of 230 billion CFA francs.
SETRAG has the right to operate freight and passenger transport on the Trans-Gabon Railway for 30 years under a concession agreement that runs until 2035.
Passenger trains operate on this route four days a week, and the schedule includes 17 freight trains per week.
In 2022, 248,000 passengers and 10.9 million tons of cargo were transported on this railway.
History of the Trans Gabon Railway
The Trans Gabon railway was first planned in the year 1885. Investigations into the line were conducted in the year 1968, its funding model was later on agreed in the year 1973, and its construction works commenced the preceding year.
The 1st section of the Trans Gabon railway that runs from Owendo to Ndjolé areas, was officially opened in the year 1978, with the remaining sections of this mega railway opening in different stages until the month of December of the year 1986. Its costs were well over budget and almost made the country go bankrupt.
The Trans-Gabon Railway is adjacent the Ogooue River until Ndjole. The most important construction sections of the railway are the Juckville Tunnel, the viaduct that passes over the Abanga Swamp, and lastly the bridge over the confluence between both the Ogooue and the Ivindo rivers. The railway line section that extends to Franceville was completed in the year 1987.
Political Influence on the Construction of the Railway
At first the Trans Gabon railway line was planned to reach Makokou and carry iron ore but its route was changed due to political reasons i.e. to keep within national borders manganese ore traffic from COMILOG that went on the COMILOG Cableway via the REpublic of Congo.
When the railway reached the manganese mine that is located at Moanda, the Cableway was shut down. The Trans Gabon railway was privatised in the year 1999.
Lastly, just to take note, plans regularly come up which usually propose an extension of the railway line to Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo.
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Who is the CONTRCATOR of the this project? China Railways?