In October, the DRC government signed a $ 25 billion memorandum of understanding with German investors for the modernization of 10,000 kilometers of Congolese railways. The project has a duration of 30 years. In the southern and eastern part of the DRC, the Société nationale de chemin de fer du Congo, SNCC, has more than 3,600 kilometers of railway line and about 20 operational locomotives. This railway line, which was built more than a century ago, has not undergone any renewal work. And this in particular has a negative impact on the company’s production.
According to the technical director of the Congo Railway Company, SNCC, the railway is in a worrying state. Built more than 100 years ago to date, only 100 kilometers of the 3641 have been completely renewed or 2.7%. Some maintenance work has been done on certain sections. All with funding from the World Bank. But the railway is also experiencing vandalism, laments Kashota Mutombo, director of infrastructure at SNCC: “In the southern part towards Sakania, we are stolen plates connecting two rails for the need to sell scrap metal. In the north, the Kananga Ilebo side and even Mwene-Ditu, we are even stolen ties, this time it is for the crafts that are there. We also have vandalism, people do excavations. In other words, over time, the transportation of Gécamines ore in bulk causes certain materials to fall and accumulate, and that is what people take under the track and it destabilizes it. “
A destabilized railway line and largely in poor condition, this affects the locomotives. Out of 38 new diesel locomotives acquired by SNCC five years ago, only 22 are in operation. David Nshimbi, Deputy Technical Director at SNCC: “Among the locomotives that are immobilized, there are at least four that are immobilized due to the poor condition of the track. We also know the slip, which causes the wheels to wear quickly, and the locomotives hang around for a long time in the workshops for replacing the wheel set. There is also the fact that the track is bad, it limits the speed. We drive less than 25 kilometers per hour in some places and over long distances damage the rolling stock. ”
The poor condition of the railway also affects production, according to Pierre Kabusonge, SNCC’s commercial director: “If the track is not good, production suffers in terms of the quality of services. And the quality of service depends on the product flow and depends on the turnover. We need safety arrangements, or when the train is running, we need to place a team that, when there is a derailment, raises the cars and we continue like that. ”
To date, it takes approximately $ 7 billion to completely rehabilitate the remaining 3,541 kilometers of the Congo National Railway Company’s railway line, the infrastructure director estimates.
.
