Rail transport in Benin

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Railways in Benin
Existing with 1000 mm gauge ,
planned with 1000 mm gauge ,
dismantled with 600 mm gauge

The rail transport in Benin is on a 578 km long single-track network with a track performed mm from the 1000th

history

Steam locomotive in Ouidah station , postmarked November 30, 1905, d. H. before the official commissioning

The first railway line in Benin opened in 1906 during the French colonial period between the port of Cotonou and Ouidah . It was 47 km long and designed as a meter gauge. It was extended in 1936 with a total length of 438 km to Parakou and became known as the central line ( French Central Dahoméen or English Northern Line ).

East of Cotonou a 197 km long route was to Pobé added and west of Pahou a 33 km stretch of Segboroué .

There was also a 9 km long branch from Lagbé (km 64) to Sakété, opened in 1908 . This was shut down in 1990, with the exception of the 2 km long section from Cotonou to Akakpa, where there are some industrial sidings. The route ran from Cotonou like a tram on the road and then crossed the lagoon on a shared rail and road bridge. The line between the port city of Cotonou and the capital Porto-Novo was put back into operation after repair work from January to July 1999, when construction work on the main road along the coast and border severely impeded road traffic. After that, operations were stopped again.

A first tourist railway project was initiated in 1997 with two Indian YP locomotives. In particular, due to the lack of locomotives, passenger traffic was discontinued in 2005.

OCBN diesel locomotive CC1301 in Cotonou: One of the 3 six-axle locomotives (CC1301, CC1302 and CC1303) that were purchased by the Indian company RITES  Ltd in 2008

In 2008, the state-owned Indian company RITES  Ltd delivered three refurbished Indian diesel locomotives at the Golden Rock Railway Workshop . In 2008 and 2010 she also conducted two corresponding maintenance training courses.

In January 2015, the refurbished central station of Cotonou opened. In the same year, 2015, the general overhaul and expansion of the east-west route and the north-south route to Niger began .

Operating companies

Until 1930, the Compagnie Française des CF du Dahomey operated both the central line ( Central Dahoméen ) and the branch to Ségboroué .

At the same time, the Compagnie Française de Porto Novo à Pobé operated the 107 km long eastern route ( Est Dahoméen ) from Cotonou, first along the coast over the Porto Novo (km 35) and then along the Nigerian border northwards to Pobé . This line was opened in 1907 to Kouti (km 54) and in 1912 to Pobé.

From 1930 the bi-national organization Commune Benin-Niger des Chemins de fer et des Transports (OCBN) took over on behalf of the government of Dahomey and from 1975 of Benin and the government of Niger on the 438 km long railway network, which is exclusively in Benin runs.

On October 14, 2015, the formerly state-owned company was privatized when Bénirail took over the railway operations from OCBN. As part of a public-private partnership , the French Bolloré Group owns 40% of the shares in Bénirail, while the governments of Benin and Niger hold 10% each and the remaining 40% are owned by private investors from Benin and Niger. Previously, Bénirail paid the outstanding 19 monthly salaries totaling 200 million CFA francs (around € 300,000) to 629 OCBN employees and hundreds of retirees.

Planned network expansions

Construction train in Bohicon station

So far there is no cross-border rail traffic to neighboring countries. There are still no rail connections to the neighboring countries of Nigeria , Togo and Burkina Faso , and in Niger there was no railroad at all until 2009 and now a new 140 km line waiting to be put into operation.

Benin is participating in the AfricaRail project, in which Benin is to be networked with Burkina Faso , the Ivory Coast , Ghana , Niger , Nigeria and Togo .

The northern network expansion to Gaya in Niger should go into operation in 2018. Further connections to Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Togo are planned. In 2015, Benin and Niger signed an agreement to work on the section from Benin to Niamey . However, the new construction and the restoration of the connecting lines in Benin soon came to a standstill as there were disputes over the main contractor. Niger stands firmly behind its French partner Bolloré, while in Benin the Petrolin company claims that it was the only bidder and has gone to court. After a court ruling on November 19, 2015, Bolloré had to stop all work in Benin. However, it is doubtful whether Petrolin even has the know-how and reserves to realize such a project. As a compromise, Benin has proposed a joint venture between the two companies or the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) as an alternative. The Supreme Court of Benin rejected an appeal by Bolloré on September 29, 2017. While Benin again proposed the CRCC, Niger insists on Bolloré.

Disused narrow-gauge railways

Narrow gauge locomotive at the port of Cotonou

In addition, there used to be two narrow-gauge railways with a gauge of 600 mm with a total of eleven steam locomotives. The used Decauville 0-6-0 + 0-6-0 Mallet locomotives came from Morocco , which Decauville had delivered 37 locomotives from 1912 to 1927. In 1933 three Decauville locomotives were delivered to Benin by the Moroccan Military Railroad (No. 16.1 to 16.3), and in 1939 another five locomotives were delivered (No. 16.4 to 16.8). These were later renumbered (18,501 to 18,508) and were all in operation until the narrow-gauge railways were shut down in 1948.

CF d'Abomey-Bohicon-Zagnanado (ABC)

The first narrow-gauge railway in Benin was the Compagnie Française d'Abomey-Bohicon-Zagnanado (ABC) . This had its own station building on the central line ( Central Dahoméen ) near Bohicon . A branch of it ran from Bohicon 9 km west to Abomey , the former capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey. The other branch ran from Bohicon 40 km to the east via Cové to Zangnanad . Both branches were opened in 1927 and closed around 1947.

CF you mono

The second narrow-gauge railway was the Compagnie Française du Mono with a 27 km long route from Ségboroué via Comé and Adjaha to Hévé , a village that was connected by a ferry to Grand Popo , the first colonial capital of Dahomey, very close to the border to Togo . A 46 km long branch ran along the border from Adjaha to Sazué and Athiémé . This line was opened in 1931/33 and closed on September 19, 1947, with the exception of a 10 km section from Ségboroué to a quarry near Comé, which was later closed. Until a few years ago, the tracks were still visible on two combined road and rail bridges west of Ségboroué. In Hévé, on the beach of the Mono River, there is still the former train station building with its ticket office, which has since been used as a school.

Tourist train “Train d'Ebène”

The ebony tourist train “Train d'Ebène” started operating in 2005 with two restored wooden railroad cars from the 1920s. One was the former general manager's car and the other was a box car converted into a bar. These wagons were pulled by a trolley from the Commune Bénin-Niger des Chemins de fer et des Transports (OCBN) organization. The company also owns the President's Salon Car No. SS5, which is still in very poor condition and awaiting a major overhaul.

The two cars belong to Guy Catherine, the French owner of a small hotel chain who renovated them. In 2007 they traveled twice a month from Pahou to Bohicon, 122 km away, from where a trip to Abomey was made. In the afternoon the train continued its journey to Dassa-Zoumé, 87 km away, where the tourists could spend the night. The next day the train went to Parakou, from where the tourists drove back by road.

Train stations

Ouidah train station

The following cities have so far been opened up by rail:

Clutches and brakes

  • Couplings: central buffer with double chain
  • Brakes: air pressure brakes

Individual evidence

  1. Sinfin.Net - Railways in Benin.
  2. a b c d e f g h i j Thomas Kautzor: Organization Commune Bénin-Niger des Chemins de fer et des Transports (OCBN).
  3. a b Keith Barrow: Private operator takes over Benin's railways. International Railway Journal, October 14, 2015.
  4. ^ World rolling stock market August 2008. In: Railway Gazette International , August 2008, p. 483.
  5. Benin railway team undergoes training. The Hindu, June 14, 2010.
  6. Cotonou Central Station enjoys a makeover. Blue Solutions, January 14, 2015.
  7. ^ Benin: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper - Growth Strategy for Poverty Reduction. International Monetary Fund, January 1, 2008. p. 50.
  8. Benirail concession: Bolloré Group starts rehabilitation work on the Cotonou-Parakou rail link. ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 2nd June 2015 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bollore-africa-logistics.com
  9. Benin – Niger railway agreement signed. Railway Gazette International. 23rd August 2015.
  10. Allegresse Sasse, Emma Farge and Samuel Elijah: Infrastructure: Court order stops Bollore's Niger-Benin rail project. November 27, 2015.
  11. Benin's struggling state-run railways pass into private hands. Cameroonvoice, October 13, 2015.
  12. Niger building rail link to Benin's largest city. Al Jazeera Media Network, Business & Economy, April 14, 2016 ( YouTube ).
  13. Franck Kuwonu: West Africa: New railway network aims to boost inter-regional trade. Rail to link Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Togo. Africa Renewal, December 2014, page 8.
  14. Benin Republic plans to build railway link with Nigeria in bid to facilitate integration. ( Memento of the original from May 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Nigerian Watch, Aug. 17, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nigerianwatch.com
  15. ^ Railway Gazette : NN: Benin - Niger railway agreement signed. (English, August 23, 2015, accessed January 7, 2018)
  16. jeuneafrique.com: Rail: Benin-Niger, la ligne de la discorde . (September 12, 2017, French)
  17. jeuneafrique.com: Rail: la Cour du Bénin suprême tranche en faveur de Dossou contre Bolloré . (October 3, 2017, French)
  18. Flora King: Good vibrations: a slow train through Benin. Visitors to Benin can now rattle between laid-back lodges in 1920s style aboard a private train, complete with hammocks and G & Ts. The Guardian, September 16, 2011, with additional photos by Tim E. White and Flora King.