The Moçâmedes Railway () is an 860 km railway line in
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
, between
Moçâmedes
Moçâmedes is a List of cities and towns in Angola, city in southwestern Angola, and the capital of Namibe Province. The city's current population is 255,000 (2014 census). Founded in 1840 by the Portuguese Angola, Portuguese colonial administr ...
and
Menongue
Menongue, formerly Serpa Pinto, is a Municipalities of Angola, municipality and the Capital city, capital of Cubango Province in Angola. The municipality had a population of 320,914 in 2014. It is one of the four municipalities in Angola whose inh ...
.
The line is operated by the company Caminhos de Ferro de Moçâmedes E.P. The port city of Moçâmedes was renamed Namibe between 1985 and 2016, so the railway was sometimes called the ''Namibe Railway'' (). However, the railway company retained its original legal name.
Its cargo flow point is made through the
port of Namibe.
History
Construction began on the railway in 1905, when Angola was a Portuguese colony. The railway was opened to traffic in 1910, and continued to be extended inland until it reached its current terminus at
Menongue
Menongue, formerly Serpa Pinto, is a Municipalities of Angola, municipality and the Capital city, capital of Cubango Province in Angola. The municipality had a population of 320,914 in 2014. It is one of the four municipalities in Angola whose inh ...
(formerly Serpa Pinto) in December 1961.
The line was originally built with
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 ...
track, but it was
re-gauged to Cape gauge in 1950, matching the gauge of other lines in Angola and southern Africa.
After Angola obtained its independence from Portugal in 1975, the
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...
broke out, resulting in the destruction of most of Angola's railway infrastructure. When the fighting ended in 2002, the Angolan government sought to restore rail service. The China Hyway Group rebuilt the Moçâmedes Railway between 2006 and 2015.
The railway is expected to serve mines at
Chamutete
Chamutete is a town in southern Angola. Chamutete is also spelled Techamutete. It lies in Huíla Province
Huíla is a Provinces of Angola, province of Angola. It has an area of and a population of 2,497,422 (2014 census). Lubango is the capital ...
and
Cassinga
See also
*
Benguela railway
The Benguela Railway () is a 3 ft 6 in gauge railways, Cape gauge railway line that runs through Angola from west to east, being the largest and most important railway line in the country. It also connects to Tenke, Democratic Republic of the C ...
*
History of rail transport in Angola
*
Luanda Railway
The Luanda Railway (sometimes called Angola Railway) is a single-track Cape gauge railway line from the Angolan capital of Luanda to Malanje. A branch line departs the railway at Zenza do Itombe for Dondo. The line is operated by the state o ...
*
Rail transport in Angola
Rail transport in Angola consists of three separate Cape gauge lines that do not connect: the northern Luanda Railway, the central Benguela Railway, and the southern Moçâmedes Railway. The lines each connect the Atlantic coast to the interi ...
References
600 mm gauge railways in Angola
Railway companies established in 1905
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Angola
Railway lines in Angola
1905 establishments in the Portuguese Empire
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