The Trans-Gabon Railway () is the only

railway 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 ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. It runs east from Owendo port station in

Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

to Franceville via numerous stations, the main ones being Ndjolé, Lopé, Booué, Lastoursville and

Moanda Moanda may refer to * Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Moanda, Gabon, a town in Gabon ** Moanda railway station, a train station in Moanda, Gabon ** Moanda Airport, an airport in Moand ...

History

A railway was first planned in 1885. Investigations into the line were conducted in 1968, funding was agreed in 1973, and construction began the following year. The first section, from Owendo to Ndjolé, opened in 1978, with the remaining sections opening in stages until December 1986. Costs were well over budget and almost

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

ed the country. The Trans-Gabon Railway is overall adjacent the Ogooue River until Ndjolé. The most important constructions are the Juckville Tunnel, the

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

over the Abanga

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

, and the bridge over the confluence between the Ogooue and the Ivindo Rivers. The line to Franceville was completed in 1987. Originally intended to reach Makokou and carry

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 ...

, its route was changed for political reasons, namely to keep within national borders

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

ore traffic from COMILOG that went on the COMILOG Cableway via the

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

. When the railway reached the

mine at

, the Cableway was closed. The railway was

privatised Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...

in 1999. Plans regularly surface proposing an extension to

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

in the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

Construction and specifications

Because the line was built well into the era of earthmoving machinery, the need to choose a

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 ...

to save costs was no longer important. As well, the choice of

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 ...

() took advantage of off-the-shelf equipment. It was constructed by a consortium of Impregilo, Astaldi, Philipp Holzmann, Constructions et entreprises industrielles and Entreprise de construction franco-africaine. The discovery of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

helped to secure

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

interest in the project, and led to the injection of funds by the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government under prime minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

. Many UK expatriates took the place of French workers and the building of the railway progressed rapidly from that point. About May 1983, CCI Eurotrag (a consortium of British, Italian and German interests) took over funding. British firms involved included Wimpey International, who seconded staff to Taylor Woodrow. The building of the initial 182 kilometres of the line from Owendo to Ndjole took over 5 years to complete. The remaining 400-plus kilometres took only five years.

Recent history

In 2003 Hughes Network Systems (see Hughes Communications) installed a satellite-based telephony system into all the stations on the railway. In June 2006 a new line for iron ore from Belinga to port was announced. It is unclear if it will use part of the existing line. The track will be

. This line was supposed to open in 2012, but in 2014 completion is still awaited. Two EMD JT42CWR locomotives shipped September 2011. A further 4 locomotives and 10 passenger coaches were also ordered. On 18 May 2019 three workers were killed in an accident on the line. In February 2023 Fortescue Metals Group inked in an agreement to develop iron ore at Belinga with a road and railway haulage to an existing port.

Network

There are no links with the adjacent states of

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, or the

. The railway is important for transporting

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

and

in addition to being the only important

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

route in the nation. In 1996, the railway carried freight and 190,000 passengers. Janes World Railways 2002-2003 The Trans-Gabon Railway, has 23 stations.

Trivia

* The Trans-Gabon Railway crosses the Ogooué River five times, at Franceville, at Ndjolé, and three times around Booué, also at Lastoursville, where one girder bridge crosses the river to the east of Lastoursville. The Italians were responsible for the actual bridge building from Lastoursville heading East toward the Congo.

References

Literature

* Minko Monique. 1983. Les communications Terrestres. in ''Geographie et Cartographie du Gabon, Atlas Illustré'' led by The Ministère de l'Education Nationale de la Republique Gabonaise. Pg 86-87. Paris, France: Edicef * * * * * * *

External links

*
UN Map
{{Authority control Rail transport in Gabon Railway lines in Gabon Standard-gauge railways in Gabon