Train en circulation dans un quartier de Douala

Rail transport in Cameroon is primarily operated by Camrail, a subsidiary of Bolloré Africa Logistics.

History

In January 2022, it was announced that container shipping company MSC would take over Bolloré Africa Logistics, the parent company of Camrail. It is uncertain whether MSC, which has an annual turnover of around €30 billion, will maintain passenger transport on Cameroon's railways or prioritise the movement of its own containers. The development contrasts with the railways of neighbouring Nigeria, where passenger transport is making a profit and freight transport is in decline.

Infrastructure

Separate from the

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

mainlines were

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

plantation railways, especially in the Tiko area. These served cocoa and sugar plantations.

Possible extensions

There are plans for an

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

railway, which however might be isolated from existing railways. The distance from the mine to tport is about 510 km. A connection to the nearest Camrail line at Mbalmayo on the Nyong River would be 350 km long. Because of the heavy tonnages to be carried, this railway is to be (

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 ...

). The railway would run from mines near Mbalam to a new port at

Kribi Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon. Location The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan, Océan Department, South Province (Cameroon), South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies a ...

. The expected traffic is 35 million tonnes per year for 25 years. Extensions of the rail network to

Maroua Maroua (Fula: Marwa, , 𞤥𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢) is the capital of the Far North Region (Cameroon), Far North Region of Cameroon, stretching along the banks of the Ferngo River, Ferngo and Kaliao Rivers, in the foothills of the Mandara Mountains. T ...

and Yokadouma to promote the forestry industry have also been recommended. In December 2010, it was reported that a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n consortium planned to build new railways in Cameroon.

Adjacent countries

There are no links yet to railways in adjoining countries. The nearest the Nigerian railway system () approaches Cameroon is Maiduguri over 100 km from the northern Cameroon border. The Gabon rail system (1,435 mm 4ft 8.5in) and Congolese rail systems gauge do not run near to the Cameroonian border. In 2011 funding for construction of a standard gauge railway line in

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

was obtained; the construction would include a line to

Moundou Moundou () is the second-largest city in Chad and is the capital of the region of Logone Occidental. The city lies on the Mbéré River (a tributary of the Western Logone) some 475 kilometres south of the capital N'Djamena. It is the main ci ...

and Koutéré near the Cameroon border, as well as a link to

Nyala The lowland nyala or simply nyala (''Tragelaphus angasii'') is a spiral-horned artiodactyl antelope native to Southern Africa. The species is part of the family Bovidae and the genus '' Tragelaphus'' (formerly placed in the genus ''Nyala''). It ...

on the border with Sudan.

Rolling stock

Locomotives

Standards

Metre gauge

* Brakes: Westinghouse Air * Couplings: SA3 * Loading gauge width * Curve radius minimum * Axleload 20.0 tonne

Standard gauge

* Brakes * Couplings * Loading gauge width. * Curve radius minimum * Axleload 37.5 tonne

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rail Transport in Cameroon Metre-gauge railways in Cameroon