History Rail transport in Sudan

1 history

1.1 diesel traction
1.2 downturn
1.3 modernisation

history

railway station in northern sudan

the pre-eminence of rail system based on historical developments led construction adjunct military operations, although first line, started khedive isma il pasha in 1874 wadi halfa sarras 54 km upstream on east bank of nile river, commercial undertaking. line, stopped governor-general gordon in 1878 reduce expenditure, had not proved viable commercially. extended nile expedition in 1884 akasha on nile destroyed dervishes when anglo-egyptian troops withdrew wadi halfa. 20-mile railway line built john aird & co. suakin on red sea inland otau in 1884 during red sea expedition abandoned in 1885. wadi halfa - saras line extended again kerma, above third cataract in may 1887 support anglo-egyptian dongola expedition against mahdiyah. line poorly constructed , of little other use, abandoned in 1905.

the first segment of present-day sudan railways, wadi halfa abu hamad on nile, military undertaking. built british use in general herbert kitchener s drive against mahdiyah in late 1890s. line pushed atbarah on nile in 1897 during campaign , after defeat of mahdiyah in 1898 continued khartoum, reached on last day of 1899. line built 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge track specifications, result apparently of kitchener s pragmatic use of rolling stock , rails of gauge old line. gauge used in later sudanese mainline construction.

the line opened trade route central sudan through egypt mediterranean , beyond. became uneconomic because of distance , need trans-shipment via nile, , in 1904 construction of new line atbarah red sea undertaken line complete in october 1905. in 1906 new line reached built port sudan provide direct connection between khartoum , ocean-going transport.

during same decade, line built khartoum southward sannar, heart of cotton-growing region of al jazirah. westward continuation reached al-ubayyid, country s second largest city , center of gum arabic production, completed in february 1912. in north, branch line built near abu hamad kuraymah tied navigable stretch of nile between fourth , third cataracts transport system. traffic in case, however, largely inbound towns along river, situation still prevailed in 1990.

in 1920s, spur of railway built hayya, point on main line 200 km southwest of port sudan, south cotton-producing area near kassala, on grain region of al qadarif, , junction main line @ sennar. of area s traffic, formerly had passed through khartoum, has since moved on line directly port sudan.

the final spur of railway construction began in 1950s. included extension of western line nyala (1959) in darfur province , of southwesterly branch wau (1961), southern sudan s second largest city, located in province of bahr el ghazal. completed sudan railways network, in 1990 totalled 4800 route km [there small later extensions abu gabra el muglad (52 km in 1995), el obeid el obeid refinery (10 km) , el ban merowe dam (10 km)].

railway tracks @ meroë

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diesel traction

diesel locomotives @ kosti, sudan in 2008

conversion of sudan railways diesel traction started in late 1950s, few mainline steam locomotives continued in use in 1990, serving lines having lighter weight rails. through 1960s, rail had monopoly on transportation of export , import trade, , operations profitable. in 1970s, losses experienced, and, although addition of new diesel equipment in 1976 followed return profitability, downturn had occurred end of decade. losses attributed in part inflationary factors, lack of spare parts, , continuation of lines characterized light traffic, retained economic development needs , social reasons. number of south african diesel locomotives in use in sudan.

downturn

the disused railway tracks , station @ malual (or rumakal/ruma-ker) in north bahr al ghazal state, sudan (2007). station had until been used barracks of sudanese armed forces

the chief cause of downturn appeared have been loss of operational efficiency. worker productivity had declined. example, repair of locomotives slow half of total number operational. freight car turnaround time had lengthened considerably, , reported slowness of management meet growing competition road transport major factor. former official in sudan train union blamed gaafar nimeiry s attempts crush unions (who had organised numerous strikes on railway) firing 20,000 qualified employees 1975-1991. road system, although more expensive, used increasingly low-volume, high-value goods because deliver more rapidly—2 or 3 days port sudan khartoum, compared 7 or 8 days express rail freight , 2 weeks ordinary freight. in 1982, 1 2 percent of freight (and passenger) trains arrived on time. gradual erosion of freight traffic evident in drop more 3 million tons carried annually @ beginning of 1970s 2 million tons @ end of decade. 1980s saw steady erosion of tonnage result of combination of inefficient management, union intransigence, failure of agricultural projects meet production goals, dearth of spare parts, , continuing civil war. bridge @ aweil destroyed in 1980s , wau without rail access on 20 years. line wau reopened in 2010 wau became part of south sudan when declared independence in 2011. during civil war in south (1983–2005) military trains went far aweil accompanied large numbers of troops , militia, causing great disruption civilians , humanitarian aid organisations along railway line.

modernisation

despite rapidly growing use of roads, rail has remained of paramount importance because of ability move @ lower cost large volume of agricultural exports , transport inland increasing imports of heavy capital equipment , construction materials development, such requirements oil exploration , drilling operations. efforts improve rail system reported in late 1970s , 1980s included laying heavier rails, repairing locomotives, purchasing new locomotives, modernizing signaling equipment, expanding training facilities, , improving locomotive , rolling-stock repair facilities. 1 project double-track line port sudan junction of branch route sannar, in effect doubling port sudan-khartoum rail line. substantial assistance furnished these , other stock , track improvement projects foreign governments , organizations, including european development fund, afesd, international development association, britain, france, china , japan. implementation of of work hampered political instability in 1980s, debt, dearth of hard currency, shortage of spare parts, , import controls. former rail union official blamed sudanese president omer hassan al-bashir took office in 1989 , continued previous regime s policy of mass firing, forcing retirement or transferring out of way locations of qualified railroad employees , replacing them incompetent political appointees. rail estimated in mid-1989 operating @ less 20% of capacity. in 2015 railways said have 60 trains available maximum speed travel 40 km/h due poor railway tracks.

in 2015 sudanese president omer hassan al-bashir promised modernise , upgrade sudanese railways chinese funds , technical assistance after years of maladministration , neglect. 2016 article noted many chinese firms had given dealing sudan because of sanctions , pressure usa.