Rehabilitation of the Kinshasa-Matadi railway in the DRC: an urgent project to decongest national roads
The Kinshasa-Matadi railway, the only railway operated by the National Office of Transport (ONATRA) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is in the process of being rehabilitated. This news, announced by the Minister of Transport, Communication and Accessibility, Marc Ekila Likombo after an inspection visit, is a response to the recommendation made by the President of the Republic at the last meeting of the Council of Ministers. The aim is to modernize the Kinshasa-Matadi railway line, 366 km long, and to contribute to the decongestion of national roads.
The rehabilitation will be carried out by the company ARISE with the assistance of the National Office of Transport (ONATRA). The first, urgent mission will be to tackle the most critical points because the heavy rains that occurred in December 2022 dug many heads of erosion which put the railway line out of service. The Minister of Transport called on the ONATRA management to manage the resources allocated to facilitate the work with the assistance of ARISE.
The situation is critical in certain points of the Kinshasa-Matadi section
The Minister of Transport descended the Kinshasa-Matadi section accompanied by a delegation from his cabinet, the Deputy Director General of ONATRA, Jean-Pierre Bambi, as well as experts from the railway control service of the ONATRA and managers of the company ARISE in charge of the rehabilitation. At kilometer point 33, more than 40 meters of railway are damaged and a large head of erosion further aggravates the situation. The minister called for urgent mobilization to clear the blocked tracks and strengthen the crossings to secure the entire section as well as the surroundings of the railway.
Work must start soon
The section visited is only a small part of the 366 km of the Kinshasa-Matadi railway line. However, it is urgent to act and start work before the resumption of heavy rains. According to the Deputy Director General of ONATRA, the rehabilitation of the Kinshasa-Matadi railway line will relieve congestion on National Road No. 1, which is heavily overloaded.
The rehabilitation of the Kinshasa-Matadi railway is a salutary operation which aims to modernize the railway while contributing to the decongestion of the country’s national roads