Africa-Press – Angola. The Luanda Railways (CFL) transported, from January to June this year, five thousand tons of diverse cargo, between Luanda and the provinces of Cuanza-Norte and Malanje, informed, on Sunday, the director of the Institutional Communication Office , Image and Exchange of the institution.
Currently, seven DMU type trains are traveling the Bungo-Viana route.
Augusto Osório, in an interview with Jorna de Angola, explained that of the five thousand tons of general cargo, the majority were agricultural products from the provinces of Malanje and Cuanza-Norte, harvested over the last six months of this year.
In the same period, he continued, the company also transported 13 million liters of diesel to the provinces of Cuanza-Norte and Malanje.
Regarding passenger transport, he reported that, during this period, the company transported 500 thousand passengers, with a greater incidence on the Bungo-Viana route, in the so-called “Suburban train corridor”.
The CFL, he added, also transported passengers on the inter-provincial route, particularly on the Musseques (Luanda) and Luinha (Cuanza Norte) route.
“For more than two years, locomotives designed to transport people have not traveled to the Province of Malanje, due to the track being inoperable”, he lamented, adding that they have only transported cargo to Malanje and not people.
The Luanda Railways, he highlighted, will work, with support from the Executive, on the rehabilitation of the railway section between Zenza do Itombe and Cacuso, in Malanje. “The rehabilitation of the tracks on this route will allow the passenger train to return to Malanje.”
Vandalization
Regarding the vandalization, the director of the Institutional Communication Office said that the losses are estimated at more than 12 billion kwanzas and affected, in particular, the provinces of Luanda, Cuanza-Norte and Malanje.
He also announced that, during the last six months of this year, the Luanda Railways (CFL) recorded the run-over of more than 50 people, of which more than half resulted in deaths.
Survivors, he clarified, unfortunately live with physical and psychological trauma, which will last a lifetime.”For this reason, we have carried out awareness campaigns to advise people who inadvertently walk on the railway line, or carry out commercial activities close to the tracks, as well as those who do not respect the rules for circulation or crossing level crossings, to avoid such practices , especially with the increase in train circulation”, he said.
Diesel Units
Currently, he stressed, seven Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) trains are serving users between Bungo and Viana. At the moment, he revealed, new workshops are also being built in Catete, to maintain these units, acquired two years ago in China.
To better take care of the maintenance of DMU trains, he said, the CFL carried out partial rehabilitation of the old Musseques workshops, in Cazenga, and expanded some ships.
Regarding the CFL service to be made available to users of Agostinho Neto international airport, Augusto Osório said that the works are on the final route. “We have doubled the line, as well as the branch that connects Baia station to the airport”, he recalled.
The company guaranteed that it also built new stations in Bungo, Musseques, Viana and Baia, as well as creating a connection space and the railway terminal, to be able to respond to future airport user.
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