Rail transport in Togo explained

Rail transport in Togo consists of (2014) of railway.^[1]

Operators

Trains are operated by French: Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Togolais (SNCT), which was established as a result of the restructuring and renaming of French: Réseau des Chemins de Fer du Togo from 1997 to 1998.^[2] Between Hahotoé and the port of Kpémé, the French: Compagnie Togolaise des Mines du Bénin (CTMB) operated phosphate trains.^[2]

Lines

• Lomé–Aného railway
• Lomé–Blitta railway
• Lomé–Kpalimé railway
• Hahotoé–Kpémé railway (operated by CTMB)^[2]

Towns served by rail

See main article: Railway stations in Togo.

• Lomé - port and national capital
• Blitta - terminus of the Lomé–Blitta railway

Railway links with adjacent countries

• Burkina Faso - no - same gauge
• Benin - no - same gauge
• Ghana - no - break-of-gauge / .

Standards

• • Coupling – Centre buffer and two side chains Brakes – Vacuum brake^[3]
• Maximum speed – up to 35 km/h^[2]

History

See main article: History of rail transport in Togo.

• Construction of the first railway line in Togo, the Lomé–Aného railway, began in 1904.
• In 1980, the average distance travelled by one person was 50 kilometers.^[4]
• A siding across the border from a cement plant in Aflao, Ghana, to the port of Lomé was completed in 2014.^[5]

Proposed international lines

In May 2023, a plan was agreed upon by the transport ministers of Togo, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Benin, to further international railway connections. The plan, consisting of both upgrading and building new lines, would link Lomé to the planned network.^[6]

See also

• Transport in Togo

Further reading

• Book: E. T. Honig . Réseaux Ferrés de L´Ouest Africain - Tome 1 . Railway Networks in West Africa - Volume 1 . Togo . 34–55 . French, English . 1988 . Röhr Verlag . 3-88490-172-9.

External links

• UN Map
• History of rail transport in Togo on fahrplancenter.com

Notes and References

1. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/togo/ Togo
2. Book: Harris . Ken . Jane's World Railways 2005-2006 . 47th . 464 . English . 2005 . Jane's Information Group . 0-7106-2710-6.
3. Web site: Steam in Africa 2019 - Togo . 2020-07-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20191227025213/http://internationalsteam.co.uk:80/africa.htm#Togo . 2019-12-27.
4. Book: Goldsack . Paul . Jane's World Railways 1981-82 . 23rd . 514 . English . 1981 . Jane's Publishing Company Ltd. . 0-7106-0726-1.
5. Web site: Togo railway plan . . 22 March 2019 . railwaygazette.com . DVV Media International . 7 July 2020 . https://archive.today/20200705100910/https://www.railwaygazette.com/infrastructure/togo-railway-plan/48210.article . 5 July 2020 . live . registration.
6. Web site: West Africa rail action plan agreed . limited . . 27 May 2023 . railwaygazette.com . DVV Media International . 6 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230601042319/https://www.railwaygazette.com/policy/west-africa-rail-action-plan-agreed/64141.article . 1 June 2023 . live.