Bungo train station

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Bungo Station (2019)

The Bungo train station ( Portuguese Estação do Bungo ), also known as the main train station of Luanda ( Portuguese Estação Central de Luanda ), is the central train station of the Angolan capital Luanda . Opened in 1889, the station is located on the eastern edge of the Ingombota district near the port of Luanda on Rua Major Kanhangulo . The station is the starting point of the Luanda Railway ( Portuguese Caminho de Ferro de Luanda ), it operate exclusively trains in suburban traffic to 60 kilometers away Catete. Long-distance traffic on the Luanda Railway begins at Luanda Musseques station .

history

construction

In 1885 the Portuguese entrepreneur Alexandre Peres received a concession from the colonial administration to build a railway line from the colonial capital Luanda to Pamba de Ambaca (today Lucala ), 288 kilometers away . Peres tried to finance the construction with bonds, but this was not enough, so that the construction was delayed until the Portuguese state stepped in with a guarantee. Construction work began in 1886, the first 60 kilometers - and with it the Bungo train station in the colonial capital Luanda - opened in 1889. The entire route to Pamba de Ambaca could only be opened in 1899. The private company "Caminho de Ferro Através de África" ​​(CFFA) operated the route.

The CFFA could not finance the extension of the line to Malanje and returned the concession for the extension to the Portuguese state. He then took over the construction of the extension in 1903, the extension to Malanje went into operation in 1908/09. The private CFFA and the State-founded Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro de Ambaca-Malanje (CCFAM) could not agree on a joint operation, so they operated their respective sections separately. It was only with the nationalization of the CFFA in the course of the Estado Novo that the entire operation of the railway line was standardized under the name Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro de Luanda.

The increasing settlement of the Portuguese colony from 1940 onwards led to a heyday of the railway line and brisk operation in the Bungo station. The branch line operated by steam locomotives from Bungo station to central Luanda ("Cidade Alta") was closed in 1951. Another branch line along Luanda Bay was also discontinued in 1957.

After independence

After Angola's independence and the emerging civil war in the country, the railway lost its importance, and operations were largely ceased in 1984. From 1991 there were first attempts at regular operation. Renovation work on the line began in 2001, and the station has also been a listed building as a national historical asset. Since 2010 there has been a continuous train service from Bungo station to Malanje. In 2013 the station was gutted and shops, a café and sanitary facilities were installed.

There were several plans to demolish or modernize the station building. Apart from the demolition of the engine shed, however, no further work has progressed. Since 2017, 60 kilometers of the Luanda Railway from the Bungo train station have been expanded to double tracks in order to enable direct trains to the new Luanda Airport, which is currently under construction , in the future .

Transport offer

From the Bungo train station there are only suburban services via Luanda Musseques to Catete (60 km). Long-distance services to Dondo and Malanje start at Luanda Musseques station .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Hugo Silveira Pereira: O papel do Estado no caminho-de-ferro de Ambaca (Angola): da concessão a privados à nacionalização. (PDF) October 2017, accessed April 8, 2020 (Portuguese).
  2. ↑ Estação do Bungo redeangola.info , August 20, 2015, accessed on March 17, 2020 (Portuguese)
  3. ↑ Maria Alice Vaz de Almeida Mendes Correia: O “PATRIMÔNIO” DO MOVIMENTO MODERNO EM LUANDA (1950–1975) (PDF) p. 58, dissertation 2012, Universidade de São Paulo (Portuguese)
  4. ↑ Estação do Bungo com novas Instalações em construção webrails.tv , April 15, 2013, accessed on March 17, 2020 (Portuguese)
  5. ↑ Linha férrea entre a estação do Bungo eo Novo Aeroporto novojornal.co.ao , October 17, 2018, accessed on March 17, 2020 (Portuguese)
  6. ↑ Novos comboios reforçam trajecto Bungo até Catete jornaldeangola.sapo.ao , October 16, 2018, accessed on March 17, 2020 (Portuguese)
  7. ↑ CAMINHOS DE FERRO DO ANGOLA. In: fahrplancenter.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020 .

Coordinates: 8 ° 48 ′ 19.2 "  S , 13 ° 14 ′ 39.4"  E