Railways in Sub-Saharan Africa
The changed role of rail in Africa over the last thirty years has seen it move from a situation where many of the systems were carrying a high share of their country's traffic to one in which their market share has declined, their assets have...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank
2012
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| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000350881_20090710102617 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3068 |
| Summary: | The changed role of rail in Africa over
the last thirty years has seen it move from a situation
where many of the systems were carrying a high share of
their country's traffic to one in which their market
share has declined, their assets have steadily deteriorated,
their quality of service has reduced, and they are in many
instances only a minor contributor to solving the transport
problems of the continent. The first railways south of the
Sahara were built in South Africa in the 1860's and
1870's, with lines heading inland from the ports at
Cape Town and Durban. The networks in what were then Cape
Province, Natal and Transvaal continued to develop but it
was not until the turn of the twentieth century that
large-scale railway development began in other parts of the
continent. In almost every case, the pattern was the same,
with isolated lines heading inland from a port to reach a
trading centre or a mine, and a few branch lines then being
built over a period of time. As almost all the lines were
constructed under colonial administrations, many of the
lines were state-owned but several were also constructed as
concessions or, in the case of some mineral developments, by
the mining company as an integral part of its mining
operation. Nevertheless, the rhetoric accompanying some of
the transactions suggests that many politicians believe, or
want to believe, that the concession award will be the
prelude to very substantial investments by the
concessionaires, particularly in infrastructure. To date,
this has barely materialized, with most infrastructure
improvements being done with international financial
institution (IFI) or donor funds. The main issue for most
sub-Saharan railways is whether concessioning is just a
temporary solution or whether some alternative approach is
needed to ensure a long-term future for railway systems
providing acceptable levels of service. |
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