The Fianarantsoa-Côte Est (FCE) railway is a colonial-built railway in southeast

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

that connects the high plateau city of

Fianarantsoa Fianarantsoa is a city (commune urbaine) in south central Madagascar, and is the capital of Haute Matsiatra Region. History It was built in the early 19th century by the Merina as the administrative capital for the newly conquered Betsileo kin ...

to the port-city of

Manakara Manakara is a city in Madagascar. It is the capital Fitovinany Region and of the district of Manakara Atsimo. The city is located at the east coast near the mouth of the Manakara River and has a small port. The bridge over the Manakara Ri ...

. It is 163 kilometers long and was built by the French between 1926 and 1936 using the forced-labor program SMOTIG. The French used rails and ties taken from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

reparations to build the line. Many of the railways still have the date of manufacturing on them dating back to 1893.Freudenberger, Karen. 2003. The Fianarantsoa-East Coast Railroad and its role in eastern forest conservation. The Natural History of Madagascar. Steven M. Goodman and Jonathan P. Benstead (eds.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. This line traverses some of the most threatened habitat in the world. In 2000, back-to-back

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

s caused 280

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

s and four major washouts cut service for months until a rehabilitation project was launched with help from USAID, Swiss Railways and others. A study conducted by the Project d'Appui à la Gestion de l'Environnement (PAGE) in 2000 concluded that keeping the train operational helps prevent deforestation to the tune of 97,400 hectares over 20 years. Interviews conducted with villagers during the temporary closure found that they would have no choice but to cut down their tree-based crops that they shipped to market on the railway and plant

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

instead. The FCE is currently running, but its aging infrastructure makes it vulnerable to service disruptions caused by broken rails, old rolling stock and landslides caused by cyclones. The railway crosses the runway of Manakara Airport, one of only three places in the world where a railway crosses a runway at grade.

Stations

- port - PK 163.270 – 4 meters * Ambila - PK 146.267 – 12 meters * Mizilo Gara - PK 136.850 – 26 meters * Antsaka - PK 128.200 – 39 meters * Sahasinaka - PK 118.300 – 39 meters * Fenomby - PK 106.650 – 190 meters * Mahabako - PK 99.000 – 195 meters * Ionilahy - PK 82.700 – 211 meters * Manampatrana or Ambinany-Manampatrana - PK 78.800 – 206 meters * Amboanjobe - PK 71.680 – 356 meters * Tolongoina - PK 61.900 – 390 meters * Madiorano - PK 54.225 – 609 meters * Andrambovato - PK 45.278 – 878 meters * Ranomena - PK 38.520 – 1061 meters * Ampitambe - PK 28.540 – 1064 meters * Sahambavy - PK 21.440 – 1079 meters * Vohimasina - PK 9.510 – 1018 meters *

- PK 0 – 1100 meters

Rolling material

* 3 locomotives Alsthom BB 242, 243 and 245 * 2 draisines YC 048 and 051 * 1 Micheline ZM * 6 station wagons * 22 freight wagons In 2020 the FCE received three Spanish second hand locomotivesLocomotives 2nd hand FCE
/ref> Serie 1500 de Renfe built in 1964.

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fianarantsoa-Cote Est Railway Metre-gauge railways in Madagascar Rail transport in Madagascar

Stations

Rolling material

See also

References

External links