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The African Union of Railways is an organisation under the auspices of the new African Union dealing with railways. It is similar to the International Union of Railways (UIC).
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2009) |
The African Union of Railways is an organisation under the auspices of the new African Union dealing with railways. It is similar to the International Union of Railways (UIC).
Africa's railways are disjointed and disconnected. The AUR hopes to rectify things. By 2012 a number of railway projects had been proposed to rectify this, some of which would make connections between international railway systems. This interconnectivity would require the development of more standardised systems.
The AUR sees that conversion to a common gauge is too difficult and expensive due to the gauge muddle,[ citation needed ] but based on reports from the World Bank, does see the following gauges as preferred in the following regions:
Several railways such as Senegal, Guinea and Tanzania have talked about conversion to standard gauge, though it remains to be seen if talk develops into action. Guinea built one new branch as standard gauge even though metre gauge is needed to take the ore to the port. Nigeria has built one short branch with dual gauge sleepers, and a network aiming to serve the port of Warri is also standard gauge. An extension from Tanzania into Rwanda is proposed as standard gauge, though it starts at a station that is already a container transhipment dry port. Mining railways that carry very large tonnages (> 10,000 metric tonnes per year) are generally standard gauge.
However, conspicuous by their absence, is the possibility of dual gauge, containerisation, variable gauge axles, bogie exchange, piggy back operation and even triple gauge.
However the African Union now supports the 50-year plan to build the African Integrated High Speed Railway Network.
Construction of standard gauge lines has started in
Because the mainlines of different countries of different gauges rarely meet, except Kidatu, break of gauge is paradoxically not a problem at the moment.
Couplings in use include:
The American AAR coupler is the most widely used of the modern types, and is usable with the heaviest trains of regularly 32,000 t (31,500 long tons; 35,300 short tons).
Whatever the advantages of the modern SA3 coupler, it is not as widely used as the AAR and is in the minority. The SA3 coupler has been used in a train of 43,400 t (42,700 long tons; 47,800 short tons), thus either matching or surpassing the strength of the AAR coupler.
Match wagons can overcome incompatibilities at the price of extra deadweight. Similarly with coupling adapters.
The type of coupling is less important when trains travel in fixed block loads.
Modern wagons are usually built with draw-gear designed for easy conversion to some kind of centre coupling such as the AAR or SA3.
Westinghouse air brakes and vacuum brakes (or no continuous brakes at all) are usually fitted. Dual brakes or piped only can overcome incompatibilities. Vacuum brakes are considered to be obsolete. Electronically controlled pneumatic brakes (ECP) are starting to be fitted on faster, heavy-duty trains for higher performance, and the two ECP systems are compatible. Air brakes are to be preferred to vacuum brakes because of their greater power.
Most railways in Africa are diesel-operated, but electrification where it exists it mostly conforms to the modern standard of 25 kV AC, with some obsolete systems using the older 3 kV DC. Trams in cities are usually low voltage such as 750 VDC. Dual and multi voltage locomotives and electric multiple units (EMUs) are proven technology. Africa has great hydro-electric potential to run electric trains with, though this would not happen overnight.
Loading gauges vary considerably, and through trains would be forced to use the most restrictive loading gauge along its route. The structure gauge of tunnels and bridges needs to be about 1 m (3.28 ft) taller to allow for piggy back operation of trains of one gauge on the wagons of another gauge.
The loading gauge width for new standard gauge railways in Ethiopia and Kenya is following the 3,400 millimetres (11 ft 2 in) standard for high speed lines pioneered by Shinkansen in Japan, and followed by South Korea and China. May also be followed by Tanzania and Nigeria.
Platform and carriage floor heights should be standardised, as well as the gap between platform and carriage.
Axle loads vary considerably, depending on the strength of the track, especially the weight of the rails which are generally too light for modern traffic. A reasonable minimum rail weight is 40 kg/m (80.64 lb/yd), though 50 kg/m (100.80 lb/yd) or 60 kg/m (120.95 lb/yd) would be preferred for heavy duty use.
Crossing loops should be as long as the longest likely train, considered globally. Some UIC standards are 750 and 1,500 m (2,461 and 4,921 ft). Extra length of the loop enables the rear of the train to clear the main line at more than line speed thus saving time.
Because of dangers imposed by wild animals such as lions, manual control of loops turnouts is not necessarily a good idea, and some degree of automation of these turnouts, and fencing, is desirable. [1]
Limits speeds, although speeds are less important on minor branch lines. Minimum radius also affects heaviest trains, due to tendency to pull wagons off the rails and derail them.
Confusion and even accidents can occur if more than one language (or accent) is used to operate a railway. A simplified language such as seaspeak would be useful to reduce such problems.
As of 2007, Namibian railways built nearly 300 km (190 mi) of a line with Angola. Namibia has been using Tubular Modular Track. Tubular Modular Track maintains its track resilience even in harshest sandy desert conditions. Transnet Freight Rail in South Africa uses Tubular Modular Track in the main Ermelo yard on its 70 million tonnes per annum heavy haul coal export line. The continuous support provided by Tubular Modular Track increases rails and turnout life by a factor of two and weld life by a factor of ten (compared to conventional and slabtrack offering discrete support for rails). The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) uses Tubular Modular Track in stations to ensure fixed vertical alignment between platforms and trains.
Plans by Nigeria's to change convert its 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge lines to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) have accelerated in 2020. Some new lines are double track replacing single track sections.
Libya started in 2007 building a completely new 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) railway system, albeit slowly. A link across the Sahara to Central Africa, probably Nigeria, would also spur the growth of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) connections, which make use of continuous access to the Middle East, Europe, and even China in the foreseeable future. In March 2011, the works ground to a halt because of the revolution [2] [3] with no news when or even if they would resume.
Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda are odd men in the 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) South & East zone as they use 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge.
The latest plans for a greatly expanded railway with links to adjoining countries are to build new lines in standard gauge and possibly upgrade and convert existing metre gauge lines to the same wider gauge. [4]
Mchinji - connects to Malawi Railways [5] 
Chipata (1,212 m or 3,976 ft) - railhead - opened 2010Heavy duty iron ore railways in Africa carry much more traffic than ordinary railways so they almost always adopt standard gauge to make use of proven off the shelf technology. New such lines are planned for Cameroon, Senegal and Guinea. Gabon is already using 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in). The Transguinean Railways is proposed to be standard gauge. Some standard gauge lines in Liberia are to be restored. An isolated 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge line in Sierra Leone is to be converted to standard gauge.
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The rail link on the Brazzaville–Kinshasa Bridge will be single track. Both sides of the bridge use the same 1067mm gauge. For compatibility with future AIHSRN a third rail or Dual Gauge sleepers should be provided.
A narrow-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard 1,435 mm. Most narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm and 1,067 mm.
In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges exist worldwide, gauge differences often present a barrier to wider operation on railway networks.
N scale is a popular model railway scale. Depending upon the manufacturer, the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. Effectively the scale is 1:159, 9 mm to 1,435 mm, which is the width of standard gauge railway. However the scale may vary to simulate wide or narrow gauge rail. In all cases, the gauge is 9 mm or 0.354 in. The term N gauge refers to the track dimensions, but in the United Kingdom in particular British N gauge refers to a 1:148 scale with 1:160 track gauge modelling. The terms N scale and N gauge are often inaccurately used interchangeably, as scale is defined as ratio or proportion of the model, and gauge only as a distance between rails. The scale 1:148 defines the rail-to-rail gauge equal to 9 mm exactly, so when calculating the rail or track use 1:160 and for engines and car wheel base use 1:148.
The Trans-Asian Railway(TAR) is a project to create an integrated freight railway network across Europe and Asia. The project is of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
A coupling is a mechanism typically placed at each end of a railway vehicle that connects them together to form a train. A variety of coupler types have been developed over the course of railway history. Key issues in their design include strength, reliability, ease of making connections and operator safety.
A transporter wagon, in railway terminology, is a wagon (UIC) or railroad car (US) designed to carry other railway equipment. Normally, it is used to transport equipment of a different rail gauge. In most cases, a transporter wagon is a narrower gauge wagon for transporting a wider gauge equipment, allowing freight in a wider gauge wagons to reach destinations on the narrower gauge network without the expense and time of transshipment into a narrower gauge wagons.
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, leading to passengers having to change trains and freight requiring transloading or transshipping; this can add delays, costs, and inconvenience to travel on such a route.
Rail transport in South Africa is an important element of the country's transport infrastructure. All major cities are connected by rail, and South Africa's railway system is the most highly developed in Africa. The South African rail industry is publicly owned.
Rail transport in Tanzania is conducted by two companies. It has historically used narrow gauge trackage, but planning and construction of new standard gauge lines is underway as of 2017.
Rail transport in Cameroon is primarily operated by Camrail, a subsidiary of Bolloré Africa Logistics.
Rail transport in Australia involves a number of narrow-gauge railways. In some states they formed the core statewide network, but in the others they were either a few government branch lines, or privately owned and operated branch lines, often for mining, logging or industrial use.
Ghana Railway Corporation operates the railways of Ghana. The Ghana Railway Company Limited is a public-sector body with responsibility for the efficient management of the national rail system so as to enhance the smooth movement of goods and passengers.
Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the track gauge. To perform a bogie exchange, a car is converted from one gauge to another by removing the bogies or trucks, and installing a new bogie with differently spaced wheels. It is generally limited to wagons and carriages, though the bogies on diesel locomotives can be exchanged if enough time is available.
There are several planned railway lines in Rwanda, including a line to Tanzania. Historical railways are limited to three industrial railways.
The railcar couplers or couplings listed, described, and depicted below are used worldwide on legacy and modern railways. Compatible and similar designs are frequently referred to using widely differing make, brand, regional or nick names, which can make describing standard or typical designs confusing. Dimensions and ratings noted in these articles are usually of nominal or typical components and systems, though standards and practices also vary widely with railway, region, and era. Transition between incompatible coupler types may be accomplished using dual couplings, a coupling adapter or a barrier wagon.
Railway stations in Tanzania include:
The vast majority of North American railroads are standard gauge. Exceptions include some streetcar, subway and rapid transit systems, mining and tunneling operations, and some narrow-gauge lines particularly in the west, e.g. the isolated White Pass and Yukon Route system, and the former Newfoundland Railway.
A Norwegian coupling or claw hammer coupling or pickaxe coupling is a manual coupling consisting of a central buffer with a mechanical hook that drops into a slot in the central buffer. The system is only found on narrow gauge railways of 1,067 mm or less, such as Western Australian Government Railways, the Ffestiniog Railway and the Welsh Highland Railway, where low speeds and reduced train loads allow a simpler system. Norwegian couplings are not particularly strong, and may be supplemented by auxiliary chains. Not all Norwegian couplings are compatible with one another as they vary in height and width, and may or may not be limited to one hook at a time.
Narrow-gauge railways are common in Africa, where great distances, challenging terrain and low cost have made the narrow gauges attractive. Many nations, particularly in Southern Africa, including the extensive South African Railway network (Spoornet), use a 3 ft 6 in gauge. Metre gauge is also common, as in the case of the Uganda Railway. There used to be extensive 2 ft and 600 mm gauge networks in countries such as Morocco, Congo, Angola, Namibia and South Africa, but these have mostly been dismantled or converted. Some also survive in Egypt: in the countryside around Luxor, narrow-gauge railways are used for the transportation of sugar cane.
Egypt–Sudan Railway Committee (ESRC) is a multinational committee that was created in 2008 to promote railway connecting lines between Egypt and Sudan.
