Railways in the Republic of the

Congo

Pointe-Noire Station on the Congo-Océan Railway

The Republic of the Congo (capital: Brazzaville) should not be confused with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (capital: Kinshasa)

The first railway in what was then the Middle Congo region of French Equatorial Africa opened in 1934 from Brazzaville to the new port of Pointe Noire, a distance of 510km. Unusually for a French colony, the gauge chosen was 1067mm: perhaps because that gauge was already in use in the neighbouring Belgian Congo, although there was no connection between the systems.

In 1962, a 285km branch opened from Mont Bélo to Mbinda near the border with Gabon. Initially this carried iron ore traffic from Gabon, brought to the railway by a cross-border cable conveyor system. Iron ore traffic ceased with the construction of a new railway in Gabon. The railway remained in use until 2021.

In 1985, a 91km loop was opened off the main line between Bilinga and Loubomo (present day Dolisie) to provide a better alignment for heavy iron ore traffic. The loop is normally used in one direction only, with returning traffic using the original line.

Since 2000 the railways have been operated by a non-governmental but state owned corporation.

In 2018, an agreement was finalised for implementation of a 1067mm gauge railway connecting mines at Mayoko with the port of Point Noire. However, despite denials by the owning company, it appears that mining ceased around 2020 and the railway was not progressed.

In 2026, following a legal challennge from the previous developer, Sangha Mining Development was confirmed as developer of a standard (1435mm) gauge line connecting iron ore mines in the Mbalam are to the port of Kribi in Cameroon. About 510km of the main line will be in Cameroon, while the remainder of the main line together with a number of branches, totalling 130km, will be in the Republic of the Congo.

Also in 2026, proposals were invited for the construction of a major road and rail bridge across the River Congo between Brazzaville and Kinshasa, connecting the capitals of the two countries and their associated rail networks. The rail section of the bridge would be of 1067mm gauge, as used by both existing networks, but would include provision for possible future conversion to 1435mm gauge.

• CF Congo-Océan the national network (No website located at present)
• Mbalam Project proposed Mbalam railway
• Brazzaville - Kinshaza Bridge proposed international link (No website located at present)