Lobito Atlantic Railway Orders New Container Wagons To Transport Goods Via The Lobito Corridor

The Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR), the concession holder for the operation, management and maintenance of the Lobito Corridor, has placed an order for 275 new container wagons from South African company Galison Manufacturing for an undisclosed sum.

The container wagons will be delivered in three tranches with the first wagons due to arrive in Lobito from the fourth quarter of this year. They will be able to carry 10, 20 and 40 ft long containers, giving flexibility for the load transported.

This order is an important next step in the refurbishment of the railway and its operational capacity to transport cobalt and copper from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia and goods from Lobito to the DRC. The order for new wagons is part of the investment announced when the 30-year concession was signed in November 2022.

The wagons are made from high-strength steel to increase the durability and reduce the weight of each wagon, which in turn will allow for higher loads to be carried. The manufacturing process involves extensive use of modern fabrication methods including computerised beam saws and robotic welding cells.

Francisco Franca, CEO of LAR, commented: “The new wagons are compatible with the existing rolling stock in the SADC region. They were designed considering local conditions on the railway to ensure the smooth transport of critical minerals and other materials for both domestic and international traffic. A team from LAR recently visited Galison Manufacturing’s facilities to monitor the start of production of the wagon prototypes that will start to be delivered later this year.”