 | This article needs to be updated.(October 2020) |
Up to 2012 Chad had no rail system. Two lines are planned to Sudan and Cameroon from the capital, with construction expected to start in February 2016 and be complete in 4 years.
| This article needs to be updated.(October 2020) |
Up to 2012 Chad had no rail system. Two lines are planned to Sudan and Cameroon from the capital, with construction expected to start in February 2016 and be complete in 4 years.
A 1905 book describes the history of a German railroad syndicate's exploration of Chad:
In 1885, the new German colony of Kamerun came into being. A number of influential Germans determined that the colony’s economic potential could be realized only through the construction of a railroad. They established a Cameroon railroad syndicate in 1900, which in 1902 obtained a concession from the German government to build a line that would open the colony’s interior to trade. The syndicate sponsored expeditions in 1902–3 and 1904 to survey the projected route. [1]
Several plans or proposals to build railways during the French colonial period (French Equatorial Africa) in Chad, and to connect Chad to other African railway networks (Cameroon, Nigeria, Oubangui/Central African Republic). Early proposals include a line extending from the Cameroon rail system at Douala into Chad in the 1930s. [2] One early unofficial plan was a study for a railway from Douala in Cameroon to Bangui, which was part of the pre-World War I German Imperial expansionist policy known as Mittelafrika. [3]
In the 1950s, a line through Chad from Port Sudan to Nigeria was proposed but opposed by Chad governmental organisations. [4]
In 1958, plans for a line from Cameroon the Société Civile d'Études du Chemin de Fer Douala-Tchad (SEDOT) was formed, and continued planning led to start of construction in 1964 - the line was constructed as far as Ngaoundéré in Cameroon (the Trans-Cameroon Railway, completed 1975. [5] ). Initial plans were for an extension to Moundou in Chad, [2] but this was not completed. [5]
In 1959, a multinational agency, the Agence Transéquatoriale des Communications (ATEC) was formed to manage cooperation between Chad, the Central African Republic, Gabon and Republic of Congo, and administer a system of river and railway links (named Route Fédérale) serving the interior via a coastal termination at Pointe Noire; a line from Bangui (CAF) to Chad (Bangui-Chad railroad, [6] or Le chemin de fer Bangui-Tchad. [7] ) was under consideration as part of this scheme. [2] [4] The Bangui-Chad railroad project reached the preliminary planning stage, including costing studies – the project was terminated in 1962. [6]
In March 2011, Chad and China Civil Engineering Construction Corp (CCECC) reached agreement on a (estimated $7 billion) contract to build over 1300 km of standard gauge railway lines in Chad. The lines would be built primarily for freight, but would also carry passengers. [8] [9] In August 2011, Sudan, Chad and the Export-Import Bank of China were reported to have reached an agreement to construct a cross border line from Chad's capital to the rail line at Nyala, Sudan. [10] On 24 December 2011, the Ministry of Transport & Civil Aviation of Chad and CCECC signed the agreement (then valued at $5.6 billion) for the line's construction - with construction planned to start in February 2012. [8]
Two lines are planned: one from the capital N'Djamena to Moundou and Koutéré on the Cameroon border (528 km), and one from the capital to the border with Sudan (836 km) via Abéché and Adré. The lines are to be built to standard gauge and for 120 km/h running, and equipment for the line will be sourced in China. [8]
There were no railways in Chad before 2012.
Cameroon-Chad [11]
In 2012, construction was reported started on a new 161km, standard (1435mm) gauge from Adré, on the border with Sudan, to Abéché. However, it would appear that little progress has been made, despite a further report that construction was under way in 2016. If eventually completed, this will be the first railway in Chad; it is proposed that it would connect with a new railway in Sudan from Port Sudan on the Red Sea. A further 575km section in Chad would run from Abéché to the capital, N’Djamena.
Funding was approved in 2021 for a feasibility study into a 528 km line from N’Djamena to Koutéré on the border with Cameroon, where it would connect with a new railway from the rail head at Ngaoundéré.
A new standard gauge railway for iron ore traffic is under construction between Kribi and Mbalam with a future connection to the existing metre gauge railway
Talgo RD gauge-changing trains may be able to overcome this break of gauge. [13]
Nyala, Sudan
Ndjamena, Chad capital Abahe-Adre, Chad
Ngaoundéré, Cameroon railhead Yaoundé, Cameroon capital Douala, Cameroon.
Transport infrastructure within Chad is generally poor, especially in the north and east of the country. River transport is limited to the south-west corner. As of 2011 Chad had no railways though two lines are planned - from the capital to the Sudanese and Cameroonian borders during the wet season, especially in the southern half of the country. In the north, roads are merely tracks across the desert and land mines continue to present a danger. Draft animals remain important in much of the country.
This article provides a breakdown of the transportation options available in Cameroon. The options available to citizens and tourists include railways, roadways, waterways, pipelines, and airlines. These avenues of transportation are used by citizens for personal transportation, by businesses for transporting goods, and by tourists for both accessing the country and traveling while there.
Abéché is the fourth largest city in Chad and is the capital of Ouaddaï Region. It has within it the remnants of the ancient capital, including palaces, mosques, and the tombs of former sultans.
The Chadian Civil War of 2005–2010 began on December 18, 2005. Since its independence from France in 1960, Chad has been swamped by the civil war between the Arab-Muslims of the north and the Sub-Saharan-Christians of the south. As a result, leadership and presidency in Chad drifted back and forth between the Christian southerners and Muslim northerners. When one side was in power, the other side usually started a revolutionary war to counter it.
Camrail is a company operating passenger and freight traffic between the two largest cities in Cameroon and several smaller cities. The company was formed in 1999 and granted a 20-year concession to operate the Cameroon National Railway. The company is a subsidiary of French investment group Bolloré and the railway has been operated by Comazar, a subsidiary of Bolloré, since 1999. According to the Comazar website, the government of Cameroon owns the track while the rolling stock is owned by Camrail.
Rail transport in Cameroon is primarily operated by Camrail, a subsidiary of Bolloré Africa Logistics.
European Union Force Chad and the Central African Republic, also EUFOR Tchad/RCA after the French, was the European Union mission in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), authorised in late 2007. EUFOR Chad/CAR was authorised under the same United Nations Security Council resolution that mandated MINURCAT, a UN force tasked with training police and improving judicial infrastructure.
The following details notable events from the year 2008 in Chad. Chad is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west.
The list of railway stations in Cameroon includes:
Sudan has 4,725 kilometers of narrow-gauge, single-track railways. The main line runs from Wadi Halfa on the Egyptian border to Khartoum and southwest to El-Obeid via Sannar and Kosti, Sudan, with extensions to Nyala in Southern Darfur and Wau in Western Bahr al Ghazal, South Sudan. Other lines connect Atbarah and Sannar with Port Sudan, and Sannar with Ad Damazin. A 1,400-kilometer line serves the al Gezira cotton-growing region. There are plans to rehabilitate rail transport to reverse decades of neglect and declining efficiency. Service on some lines may be interrupted during the rainy season.
The Dakar-Port Sudan Railway is a proposed 4,000 km long transcontinental railway between Dakar, Senegal and Port Sudan, Sudan. It was proposed in 2008-2010 to pass through several countries along the way with spur lines to capital cities not on the direct route.
Toumaï Air Chad is the national flag carrier airline of Chad. It operated domestic services within Chad as well as scheduled international services to other African nations from its main base at N'Djamena International Airport. International flights appeared to have been operated by primarily South African crews, but there is no recent confirmation of this, and flights were grounded in July 2012 because of safety concerns. Scheduled flights appear to be suspended, but recent reports indicate that Toumaï Air Tchad had resumed limited operations on Hajj charter flights.
The history of rail transport in Cameroon began at around the turn of the twentieth century.
The history of rail transport in the Central African Republic is limited to a now closed short railway line, and two proposed railway projects that were not implemented.
Koutéré is a small town in Chad on the border with Cameroon.
Bolloré Group operates in Africa since 1927. In 2008, Bolloré Transport & Logistics was established to consolidate the Bolloré Group infrastructure and logistic activities across the African continent.
The Ngaoundéré Central Station is the main railway station in Ngaoundéré, Cameroon. It is located on the Yaoundé-Bélabo-Ngaoundéré line of the Camrail network.
