Transport in Angola

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Transport in Angola comprises:

1 Railways
2 Highways
3 Waterways
4 Pipelines
5 Ports and harbors
- 5.1 Atlantic Ocean
6 Merchant marine
7 Airports
8 Reference

[edit] Railways

total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2002)
there are three separate lines which do not link up. A fourth system once linked Gunza and Gabala.

railways in Angola have suffered a lot of damage in the civil war, and a $4b project is proposed to restore the lines, and even to extend the system. A link to Namibia is partly under construction.

[edit] Railway links to adjacent countries

The major railway in Angola is the Benguela railway, severely damaged during the civil war after independence.

Congo - no - Lobito - Lubumbashi restoration link proposed.
Namibia - no - same gauge - links proposed and partially under construction in 2005.
Zambia - no

[edit] Maps

UNJLC Map

[edit] Towns served by rail

[edit] North line

Luanda - port - capital
Caxito - terminus
Ndalatando
Golungo Alto - branch terminus
Dondo - branch terminus
Malange - terminus

[edit] Middle line

Gunza - port
Gabala - terminus

[edit] Central line

Benguela - port
Lobito - port
Ganda - junction
Huambo - workshops
Kuito
Camacupa
Luau - border with Congo

[edit] South Line

Namibe - port
Lubango
Capelongo
Menongue - terminus

[edit] Highways

total: 76,626 km
paved: 19,156 km
unpaved: 57,470 km (1997 est.)

Travel on highways outside of towns and cities in Angola (and in some cases within) is often not best advised for those without four-by-four vehicles. Whilst a reasonable roads infrastructure has existed within Angola, time and the war have taken their toll on the road surfaces, leaving many severely potholed, littered with broken asphalt. In many areas drivers have established alternate tracks to avoid the worst parts of the surface, although careful attention must be paid to the presence or absence of landmine warning markers by the side of the road.

The Angolan government has contracted the restoration of many of the country's roads, though. Many companies are coming into the country from China and surrounding nations to help improve road surfaces. The road between Lubango and Namibe, for example, was completed recently with funding from the European Union, and is comparable to many European main routes. Progress to complete the road infrastructure is likely to take some decades, but substantial efforts are already being made in the right directions.