The Société commerciale des transports et des ports (Commercial society of ports and transports), prior to 2011 known as the Office national des transports (National Office of Transports), or ONATRA, is a publicly owned company based in Kinshasa which operates

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

s, and

river transport Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throu ...

in the north and west of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

on the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

. It is the continuation of the Office of Colonial Transport (''Office des transports coloniaux'', OTRACO) founded in 1935 and has subsequently existed under other names.

History

The Office des transports coloniaux'' (or "Colonial transport agency, OTRACO) was established, in 1935, as a public body, and renamed the ''Office des transports au Congo'' (OTRACO) in 1960, finally becoming the "Office National des Transports" (ONATRA) in 1971. In 1973, ONATRA carried its largest number of passengers ever, a total of 410,871. In 1977, the government decided to end ONATRA's monopoly of river transport, and to allow any individual or company to own and operate river boats. Decline in the state of its assets, together with competition, led to a sharp decline, so that by 1982, it only carried 121,779 passengers.

Network

The network includes: * Matadi-Kinshasa Railway, under an agreement with the

Congo Railroad Company Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to ...

; *Rivers and lakes network ** From Boma to

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry (botany), berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa''. In some countries, Cooking banana, bananas used for ...

(ferry ''Kalamu''); **

River Congo The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

and

Kasai River The Kasai River ( ; called Cassai in Angola) is a tributary (left side) of the Congo River, located in Central Africa. The river begins in central Angola and flows to the east until it reaches the border between Angola and the Democratic Republ ...

(and their tributaries); *Ports ** Ocean ports of

Matadi Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, ...

and Boma ** River ports Kinshasa,

Mbandaka Mbandaka (, formerly known as Coquilhatville in French language, French, or Coquilhatstad in Dutch language, Dutch) is a city on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo located near the confluence of the Congo River, Congo and Ruki Riv ...

and

Kisangani Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville or Stanleystad) is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the fifth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,312,000 in 2021, and the la ...

Timeline

2008

* New locomotives

Basketball team

The company has a basketball team, named BC SCTP, that is the most decorated club in Congolese history. They have won 18 Coupe du Congo titles.

References

External links

Office National des Transports du RDC
{{Africa in topic, Rail transport in Railway companies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Transport companies established in 1935 1935 establishments in the Belgian Congo