Angola | Moçâmedes Railroad receives three more locomotives

The fleet of the Moçâmedes Railroad will be increased in a few days with the arrival of three new locomotives acquired in the United States, the chairman of the rail management company said.
Daniel Quipaxe said that six locomotives were currently in service, which were recently acquired in China and India, and that the three new units would streamline “the process of movement and transport of people and goods in between Namibe, Huila and Kwando Kubango.”
The chairman of the Moçâmedes Railroad said there were enough tanker trucks to carry fuel and water, but there is a shortage of wagons to carry black granite, because those available are cramped and demand is starting to increase, a situation that will be remedied with the arrival of new wagons.
On the occasion of the 109th anniversary of the company, Quipaxe told daily newspaper Jornal de Angola that in the future a branch line over 300 kilometres long would be built between Tchamutete, Jamba, to the border with Namibia, and that currently studies were being conducted for its construction.
The work to rebuild and modernize the railway line is almost at the final stage and by the end of October the contractor is due to deliver most of the infrastructure.
The contractor, Chinese company China Hyway, is completing the construction of over 800 homes along the rail route between the city of Namibe (the current name of Moçâmedes) and Menongue.
The Moçâmedes Railroad linking the coastal town of Namibe to Menongue, the provincial capital of Kwando Kubango provincial capital in eastern Angola, started to be built on 28 September, 1905 and was completed on 6 December, 1961.
The line is 860 kilometers long, including branch lines to the old mining areas of Jamba and Cassinga. MDT/Macauhub