Transguinean Railways
The Transguinean Railways is a proposed set of heavy haul standard gauge railways in Guinea to support haulage of primarily iron ore and bauxite.
Maps
- UNHCR Atlas Map (2004) shows topography.
- UN map shows provinces; towns; railways
Overview
Existing railways in Guinea are badly maintained and feeble, and would need to be rebuilt from the ground up to support a tenfold or hundredfold increase in tonneages. The new lines would also avoid undesirable rises and falls though hilly terrain. [1]
Gauge
The new lines would be standard gauge (1435mm) so as to benefit most from off the shelf equipment, and to achieve the highest secondhand value of surplus equipment. The existence of successful heavy duty narrow gauge lines in South Africa, Queensland and Brazil would not affect this choice.
Dapilon Santou Railway (North Trans-Guinean Railway)
This 135 km long Standard Gauge railway was officially opened in June 2021. It connects new mining areas at Santou II and Houda with a new river port at Dapilon near Yakabya, around 25km west of Boké[2] The line is operated by the SMB-Winning Consortium and is intended to carry predominantly bauxite. Dapilon port has been criticised for the effects of bauxite dust causing environmental damage to fields, cashew plantations and nearby settlements.[3]
See: Boffa-Boke Railway
Transguinean Railway (South Trans-Guinean Railway)
This 622km long railway, mooted to be operational by 2025, will connect the iron ore mines around Simandou (south-eastern Guinea) with a proposed new river port at Morebaya. Shallow waters require a 20km long pier to reach deep water suitable for Panamax sized ships. A later phase may see a deepwater port at Matakong on a coastal island between the capital of Conakry and the Sierra Leone border. The total cost of this project, including mine, port and railway, etc., is estimated at US$17 billion. The project is being developed by a consortium comprising Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), Rio Tinto (in partnership with others) and the government of Guinea.[4]
A description of the project, including map, funding and future ownership arrangements is provided on the WCS website [5] and in a Rio Tinto press release [6]
Borders
The planned new line roughly parallels Guinea's southern border with Sierra Leone and Liberia. Regions served will be are Kindia, Mamou, Faranah and Nzérékoré.
See also
Reports
References
- ^ Railways Africa - RADEBE AT UAR CONFERENCE
- ^ SMB report on the project
- ^ Environmental Justice Atlas
- ^ Wilson, Tom (2024-01-07). "World's biggest mining project to start after 27 years of setbacks and scandals". Financial Times. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
- ^ "PROJECT DESCRIPTION". Winning Consortium Simandou. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
- ^ "Conditions on Simandou investment now satisfied". www.riotinto.com. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
- ^ National Geoscience Database Of IRAN - Geoportal Info