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Rail infrastructure managers in Sub-Saharan Africa
32 managers28 countriesLinks checked on 12 Oct 2026
Sub-Saharan Africa has the most varied rail landscape in the world. Many colonial-era lines, built to metre gauge or Cape gauge (1,067 mm), are run under concession by private companies that also maintain the track, such as Sitarail between Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso, Camrail in Cameroon and Setrag in Gabon. Because concessions expire, knowing who holds them matters.
Infrastructure managers by country
| Country | Infrastructure manager | Acronym |
|---|---|---|
| AOAngola | Benguela Railway (Empresa do Caminho de Ferro de Benguela, E.P.)(link to come) | CFB |
| AOAngola | LAR (Lobito Atlantic Railway, Lobito Corridor concession) | LAR |
| BWBotswana | BR (Botswana Railways) | BR |
| CMCameroon | Camrail (Cameroon Railways) | Camrail |
| CICôte d'Ivoire / Burkina Faso | Sitarail | |
| DJDjibouti | Ethio-Djibouti Standard Gauge Rail Transport Share Company (EDR S.C.)(link to come) | EDR |
| CDDR Congo | Société nationale des chemins de fer du Congo | SNCC |
| EREritrea | Eritrean Railway(link to come) | ERY |
| SZEswatini | ESR (Eswatini Railways) | ESR |
| ETEthiopia | ERC (Ethiopian Railways Corporation) | ERC |
| GAGabon | Setrag (Trans-Gabon Railway operating company) | Setrag |
| GHGhana | Ghana Railway Development Authority | GRDA |
| GNGuinea | Compagnie du TransGuinéen (CTG)(link to come) | CTG |
| KEKenya | Kenya Railways | KR |
| LRLiberia | ArcelorMittal Liberia (ligne Yekepa–Buchanan)(link to come) | AML |
| MGMadagascar | Madarail (Madagascar Northern Network) | Madarail |
| MWMalawi | Nacala Logistics (formerly Central East African Railways, CEAR)(link to come) | CEAR |
| MUMauritius | MEL (Metro Express Ltd, Mauritius light rail) | MEL |
| MZMozambique | CFM (Mozambique Ports and Railways) | CFM |
| NANamibia | TransNamib Holdings | TransNamib |
| NGNigeria | NRC (Nigerian Railway Corporation) | NRC |
| CGRepublic of the Congo | Chemin de fer Congo-Océan(link to come) | CFCO |
| SNSenegal | SENTER (Senegal national TER infrastructure and asset manager) | SENTER |
| ZASouth Africa | GMA (Gautrain Management Agency) | GMA |
| ZASouth Africa | PRASA (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa – Metrorail) | PRASA |
| ZASouth Africa | Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM) | TRIM |
| TZTanzania | TRC (Tanzania Railways Corporation) | TRC |
| TZTanzania / Zambia | TAZARA (Tanzania–Zambia Railway Authority) | TAZARA |
| TGTogo | Togolese National Railway Company (SNCT)(link to come) | SNCT |
| UGUganda | URC (Uganda Railways Corporation) | URC |
| ZMZambia | ZRL (Zambia Railways Limited) | ZRL |
| ZWZimbabwe | NRZ (National Railways of Zimbabwe) | NRZ |
No manager matches.
How rail is organised in the region
The region is also building new standard-gauge railways: Kenya's Mombasa–Nairobi line, the Addis Ababa–Djibouti railway and Tanzania's SGR, run by national or binational companies. Heavy-haul mining lines, in Guinea or Liberia for instance, are often owned by the mining groups themselves.
In South Africa, Transnet manages the freight network, PRASA the commuter and passenger network, and a provincial agency oversees the Gautrain between Johannesburg and Pretoria. Several countries in the region have no railway in service yet and are not listed.
Infrastructure manager or train operator?
An infrastructure manager (IM) owns or runs the network itself: track, bridges and tunnels, overhead lines, signalling and telecoms. It maintains and renews these assets, allocates capacity (train paths) to railway undertakings and leads major works and their tenders.
Frequently asked questions
Who manages South Africa's railway network?
Transnet manages the national freight network; PRASA runs commuter and passenger rail, and the Gautrain Management Agency oversees the Gautrain in Gauteng.
What is a rail concession in Africa?
The state keeps ownership of the network but hands its maintenance and operation to a company for a set period, such as Sitarail, Camrail or Setrag, which becomes the de facto infrastructure manager.
Which new standard-gauge railways operate in East Africa?
The main ones are Kenya's Mombasa–Nairobi line, the Addis Ababa–Djibouti railway and Tanzania's SGR.
Other regions
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