67. Railways are the most cost-effective mode of transport for moving bulk cargo by land over long distances. They are suited to container traffic between ports and capitals. Compared with other modes, the rail system has gained an advantage from recent economic and technological trends such as higher energy prices, the growth of container stations and new increases in flows of bulk trade and traffic, including food and other commodity aid to Africa.
68. Although it is recognized that railways are a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly means of transport, the existing railway infrastructure in Africa is far from adequate. In addition to the low network connectivity, the railways in Africa, with the exception of North Africa, have a low level of traffic. Overall, the railways in Africa carry only 1 per cent of global railway passenger traffic and 2 per cent of goods
traffic.
69. In 2005 Africa had a total railway network of 90,320 km or 3.1 km of track per 1,000 square km. The subregional distribution of the railway network at the time is shown in figure 4. Of the five subregions. Southern Africa had the highest share of railway network, followed by North Africa.
Figure 4: Share of Africa's railway network by subregion
Central
3%
A
Sources: World Development Indicators 2008; The World Fact Book 2007; Final Evaluation Report of the United Nations Transport and Communications Decade in Africa II, 2002.
70. Most of the network was built at the end of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth century, when the most important demand for transport emanated from the need to link ports to the hinterland producing primary commodities for export, and hence is not interconnected.
71. Poor management, together with old and poorly maintained track, rolling stock and other facilities, have left railways in Africa in a poor state. The only exceptions are the Tanzania-Zambia railway (TAZARA), the Gabon railway, the Trans-Cameroon railway and the mining lines which were built in the late 1970s. Of the total number of .African Union member countries, 17 have no railway: Burundi, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mauritius, the Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone (where the railway no longer works) and Somalia.
72. Further examination of the railway network reveals that many of the lines are disjointed, resulting in poor connectivity between neighbouring countries.
The southern African rail system is more interconnected than the railways of other subregions.
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Figure 5: Map of the African railway network
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African Railways Network
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73. Road transport development in the past few decades has made railway transport less competitive in many countries. As a result only a few countries in Africa have expanded their railway lines in the past few decades. Indeed, following conflicts in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone, some of their rail transport operations were closed down.
74. Notable examples of African countries which have added lines to their railway network include South Africa, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. The TAZARA railway line was an addition to the long-stagnant rail network in the subregion.
Technical characteristics of African railways
75. African railway lines use nine different gauges. The following three are widely used:
a. The 1.067 m gauge is the most widely used, accounting for 61.3 per cent of the continent's network, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa;
b. The 1.000 m gauge accounts for 19.2 per cent of the continent's network; and
c. The 1.435 m (European) gauge accounts for 14.5 per cent of the continent's network, dominating in North Africa.
76. Diesel-electric traction is the most widely used power source. Electrified railway lines, accounting for a small fraction (only about 7 per cent), are found only in some parts of North Africa, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the traffic density is high. Although they are being phased out on many lines, old steam engines are still in operation in Kenya, mainly for tourist purposes.
77. The speed and carrying capacity of African railways are generally low because of a number of factors, including small radius of curvature (less than 400 metres) and high gradient (greater than 10 per cent). The age and weight of the rails also limit capacity. In addition to being old and weak, most rails are lightweight, at between 25 and 36 kg per metre.
78. The signalling and telecommunications systems are also generally old and lack the reliability required in a modern transport system.
79. The above physical characteristics of the rail networks in Africa form major hindrances to the introduction of modern trains that have higher speeds and greater carrying capacity.
80. Accidents, some fatal, have occurred on African railways, involving train derailment and crashes. Most accidents are attributed to poor maintenance of tracks and trains. In addition to claiming the lives of many passengers and crew, these accidents have resulted in huge financial losses to shippers and railway companies.
81. Before the 1990s, railways in Africa were mainly run as state monopolies, characterized by cumbersome and bureaucratic administrations.
82. The poor management of these railway enterprises, coupled with the generally obsolete and inefficient rolling stock and run-down equipment, prevented the railways from competing with the more dynamic road transport sector, largely in private hands.
83. 1 he benefits that public-private partnership arrangements can bring to the transport sector have been documented in a number of studies. A recent study by the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa, for example, has reported performance improvements in the railways of some African countries after the introduction of concessions. The following are a few examples:
a. Cameroon railways registered an increase of 27 per cent in freight traffic and 16 per cent in productivity. The current assets ratio increased from 0.55 to 0.9 per cent, and net transfers to Government increased;
19
b. Beira railway reported a tenfold increase in the average number of kilometres between locomotive failures, and a fivefold decrease in track under temporary speed restrictions; and
c. The Mali-Senegal railway reported an eightfold decrease in traffic slowdowns.
Missing links in African railways
84. According to the NEPAD-AU Infrastructure Development Study of 2006, 74 per cent of the railway network in Africa was interconnected, implying that 26 per cent of the links were missing. The largest proportion of missing links (48 per cent) was found in West Africa. The most interconnected railway network was reported to exist in Southern Africa, with only 10 per cent of links missing.
85. Table 6 shows the length of existing links and the length and proportion of missing links of the railway system by subregion.
Table 6: Railway missing links by subregion
Subregion Existing links (km)
Planned lines in the master plan (1979)
(km)
Total length of lines (existing and
planned) (km)
Percentage of missing links
Central Africa 6 414 4 574 10 988 42
Eastern Africa 9 341 2 299 11 640 20
North Africa 16012 6 484 22 496 29
Southern Africa 33 291 4 034 37 325 11
West Africa 9715 8 971 18 686 48
Total Africa 74 775 26 326 101 137 26
Source: NEPAD-AU Infrastructure Development Study, 2006.