Rail transport in Madagascar
Rail transport in Madagascar is primarily operated by Madarail. There are two unconnected systems having a total length of 855 km (531 mi), as of 2023, all metre gauge, 1,000 mm (39+3⁄8 in). The northern railway is concessioned to Madarail. Since April 2022 Madarail has been 100% owned by the Madagascan state. The southern line, Fianarantsoa-Côte-Est railway is a parastatal (state owned) line.
The historical length of lines in the country was 899 km (559 mi) together with a number of military and industrial lines of at least 108 km (67 mi).
History
Construction started in 1901 on the Madagascar Railway (Le Chemin-de-Fer de Madagascar) at Anivorano on the line from Tananarive to Toamasina / Tamatave. The northern network was essentially complete by 1923 and the southern line by 1936.
Operations
There is a regular (at least daily) goods traffic between the port city of Toamasina and the capital city of Antananarivo. There are daily passenger trains[1] on the Madarail system. Very occasionally, there are special chartered trips on restored Micheline railcars for tourists. The southern line has a regular daily passenger train, which provides a slow but picturesque alternative to the recently rehabilitated road in the region.
The line between Antananarivo and Antsirabe re-opened on 2 December 2023.[2]
Urban Passenger Service
A passenger service between Soarano (Antananarivo main station) and Amaronakona (18°55'49.9"S 47°34'44.8"E, on the TCE line) was due to commence in August 2023. Eight stations were planned. Similarly diesel powered trains will initially operate instead of the planned electric trains.[3]
Initial operation was subsequently delayed until 'early 2024' in an announcement on 7 December 2023[4]
Interfaces
- Continuous Brakes: Air/Vacuum/Unbraked ?
- Couplers: Centre buffer and two side hooks and chains.[5]
Cities served by rail
- Antananarivo - national capital
- Toamasina - chief seaport
See also
References
Notes
- ^ "MADARAIL - TRAIN VOYAGEUR" (in French). Archived from the original on 2018-06-12.
- ^ Ouverture de la ligne TA (Antananarivo – Antsirabe) pour la circulation des trains. Le 02 décembre 2023, par message du Chef de District Voie à 9H40, la... | By Madarail | Facebook, retrieved 2023-12-20
- ^ world-today-journal (2023-07-19). "Antananarivo: the first urban train inaugurated on August 15". World Today Journal. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
- ^ R, Mandimbisoa (2023-12-21). "Antananarivo : le train urbain opérationnel en début 2024". Madagascar-Tribune.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ RailwaysAfrica 1/2008 FCover
Further reading
- Robinson, Neil (2009). World Rail Atlas and Historical Summary. Volume 7: North, East and Central Africa. Barnsley, UK: World Rail Atlas Ltd. ISBN 978-954-92184-3-5.
- Kolozsvari, Douglas A. (2013). Civil Society Organizations and the Protection of Sub-Saharan Africa's Colonial Railways: The Case of Madagascar's Fianarantsoa-Côte Est Railway (PhD thesis). University of Michigan. hdl:2027.42/99911.
External links
- UN map Archived 2016-08-04 at the Wayback Machine
- http://www.madarail.mg/