One of the goals of the
Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...
(ECOWAS) is the development of an integrated
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
network.
Aims include the extension of railways in member countries, the interconnection of previously isolated railways and the standardisation of gauge, brakes, couplings, and other parameters.
Proposed lines
The first line would connect the cities and ports of
Lagos
Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
,
Cotonou
Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area.
The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...
,
Lomé
Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437 and
Accra
Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...
and would allow the largest container ships to focus on a smaller number of large ports, while efficiently serving a larger
hinterland
Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...
. This line connects gauge and systems, which would require four rail
dual gauge
Dual gauge railroad track has three or four rails, allowing vehicles of two track gauges to run on it.
Signalling and sidings are more expensive to install on dual gauge tracks than on two single gauge tracks. Dual gauge is used when there i ...
, which can also provide
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
.
[ ]
Gauge (railway)
Standards
* Brakes:
Air brakes
* Electrification:
25 kV AC
Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...
* Couplings: vary
See also
*
AfricaRail
References
{{reflist
Economic Community of West African States
Rail transport in Africa