| Benguela Railway | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 CFB Diesel locomotive, in 1973 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Status | Operational | ||
| Locale | Angola and D.R. Congo | ||
| Termini | |||
| Service | |||
| Type | Heavy rail | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | 1905 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 1,866 km (1,159 mi) | ||
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||
| Operating speed | 90 km/h (56 mph) | ||
| Highest elevation | 6,082 ft (1,854 m) | ||
| |||
The Benguela Railway (Portuguese: Caminho de Ferro de Benguela (CFB)) is a 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 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and to the Cape to Cairo Railway (connecting the city of Kindu (DRC) to the city of Port Elizabeth in South Africa).
The line terminates at the port of Lobito on the Atlantic coast, from where Angola exports a wide variety of products, including minerals (from the Copperbelt region), food, industrial components and livestock.[1]
The section from Lobito to Luau is run by the Empresa do Caminho de Ferro de Benguela-E.P.[2] It crosses the Luao River, which lies on the border, to Dilolo (DRC). From there to Tenke, the railway is operated by the Société nationale des Chemins de fer du Congo.
- ^ Angola to launch concession for Benguela Railway. International Railway Journal. August 25, 2021.
- ^ Empresa Archived 19 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Caminho de Ferro de Benguela-E.P.. 2019.