Madagascar's railways

[John Ashworth]

Copied below are two fairly recent articles about railways in Madagascar. Comments on the Lonely Planet website cast doubts on what is actually working.

1. Madagascar's lost railways come back to life
Posted : Tue, 04 Mar 2008 03:14:03 GMT
Author : DPA

Antananarivo, Madagascar - After a gap of nearly 15 years, the first passenger train from the little town of Moramanga on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar will soon set off on its 250- kilometre journey to Tamatave port. The event caused great celebrations among villagers along the route. These remote rice-growing communities in the rain forest have been virtually cut off from the outside world and delivering their produce to markets in the towns has been an arduous affair for local smallholders.

Railway fans from all over the world have also been eagerly awaiting the resumption of passenger traffic. The trains are hauled by diesel rather than steam locomotives, but for all those aboard the journey is likely to be a unique experience.

The Madarail company, which has been in charge of rail services in the north of the Madagascar for the past few years, set the stage for the renewal of the important rail link several years ago.

The train takes 13 hours to cover the twisting 250 kilometres of track. There are departures from Tamatave at 18.00 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and it leaves Moramanga station on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Arrival at both ends is scheduled for 7.00.

The train is due to run later in the day from July onwards in order to use the daylight hours for minor route and infrastructure repairs, said Madarail director general Patrick Claes. He recently unveiled the newly-renovated railway which officials hope will also attract plenty of tourists. Numerous freight workings will continue to use the route.

There will be no first class carriages for passengers and each locomotive will haul three carriages with seats for 72 passengers along with two general luggage coaches and a special goods carriage.

According to the timetable, the train will halt for a mere two minutes at 17 stations and nine other halts along the way to allow passengers and freight to board or exit the train.

From February, tourists who want to holiday on the eastern seaboard will have the first opportunity in many years to travel by rail to Perinet (Andasibe), which lies 26 kilometres from Moramanga.

This is a good place to leave the train and explore the country's best-known National Park where the indri, the largest of Madagascar's lemurs, leap through the tamarind trees. From here there are regular bush taxis to the capital Antananarivo.

Alternatively, it is possible to catch a taxi or hire a car for the morning trip to Moramanga, which also boasts the country's police museum, enjoy lunch at Madagascar's best Chinese restaurant - the "Coq d'Or" or golden cock - and take in the hustle and bustle at the station before the train pulls out at 18.00.

The price of a ticket has been set at a highly-affordable 9,000 Ariary (which equates to about 5 dollars per person). The fare includes an allowance of 50 kilos of personal luggage along with the promise of some adventure along the way. The journey is worth taking alone for the colourful hubbub at stops along the way. However, there is a risk of delay caused by landslides and other natural hazards.

Patrick Claes announced that other rail routes on the island are also set to be revived for passenger traffic. These include the link from Moramanga to Lake Alaotra (150 km), the island's principal rice- growing region, and to Antsirabe (170 km), where precious stones are mined. Three locomotives have been prepared to operate these services along with 14 passenger carriages. Madarail has so far invested more than six million dollars in overhauling the rail network.

At present, the legendary "Jungle Express" is the only regular rail link in Madagascar. It connects Fianarantsoa (420 km south of the capital Antananarivo) with the port of Manakara on the east coast five times a day.

The Earth Times

2. Madagascar's sole passenger train: economic lifeline, at risk

Jan 14, 2008

MANAKARA, Madagascar (AFP) — Madagascar's only passenger railway is an economic lifeline for dozens of isolated mountain villages set back from the coast and more and more tourists are falling for its old-world charm.

However, the ageing line that runs through stunning mountain scenery is facing an uncertain future -- at a time when poor but resource rich Madagascar is struggling to turn around its dismal economy and boost a potentially lucrative tourism sector.

The line, built between 1926 and 1936 when the Indian Ocean island was a French colony, is "key for thousands of people who live up to 50 kilometres away from the main road," said Louis-Francois Andrianarison, stationmaster in the east coast town of Manakara, one of the terminuses.

Carrying freight, ordinary Malagasy people and tourists in three separate cars, the 163-kilometre (100-mile) Fianarantsoa-East Coast (FCE) line is one of only two rail lines in Madagascar, and the only one with passenger cars.

"The line is good even if the equipment is old," said a proud Seth Honore Randriaramanana, who runs its second-hand engine shipped here in 1979 but which he says is even older.

On this particular Sunday, a felled tree hampered the train's advance. Passengers had already held out for four hours after its scheduled departure time was delayed, but the dozens of first-class tourists did not complain. Several got off the train to take pictures of the tracks being cleared.

Up to this day, there is virtually no other way of shipping fruits and vegetables to Fianarantsoa, a town 240 kilometres (150 miles) south of the capital Antananarivo, or rice and products made on the elevated plain around the city to the isolated areas along the line.

"It gets really busy during the litchi harvest" at the end of November, said Frederic Randrianaraso who is in charge of loading and unloading the freight car. "In general, the trip takes eight hours, but during the harvest loading takes up more time."

At each of the 17 scheduled stops, hawkers and the curious wait for the train to arrive three times a week.

"Between the scenery and the ambiance in the stations, the trip is fabulous," Stephane Jullien, a traveller in his thirties raved, taken aback by the fact that Madagascar's "only train would run in such a forbidding area."

The train has survived political, technological and other storms. In 1991, a major political crisis shut down the rail service, in 1995-96 an engine was lost in a derailment, and in 2000, cyclones severely damaged the tracks.

But the line reopened each time.

Now its future looks bleak because it is not profitable -- in a country with many demands on any available funds. Nearly two-thirds of Madagascar's 17 million people live in abject poverty, with the country ranked among the world's 30 most impoverished nations in terms of human development.

And the government has set poverty reduction as a priority.

"The World Bank would have to invest 11 million euros (16 million dollars) to modernise it if we can show that the line is viable and useful," said Faly Andriamampiadana, head of Madagascar's transport authority.

But the government "has promised to put the line out for tender," he said. And "the Chinese and the South Africans have already shown they're interested."

Madagascar's only other railway, a freight line, runs from the capital Antananarivo to Toamasina, the country's chief port.

And in December the Indo-Madagascar Chamber of commerce and industry (IMCOCI) proposed a third rail line for the country. The ambitious project would run the length of the country from north to south to "help the circulation of people and products, notably mining and agricultural resources," the chamber's president Azeez Arabathickal was quoted as saying in the local press.

But sceptics doubt this line will see the light of day anytime soon, since its path runs through areas that are not even linked by roads yet.

Madagascar's government is also keen on encouraging tourism, now hampered by low investment and poor infrastructure. The country hopes to tap into a windfall enjoyed by the neighbouring isles of Mauritius and Seychelles reputed for idyllic beaches could help.

Between 2001 to 2004, the country recorded a 35 percent increase in tourists from 230,000 to 310,000 foreign visitors and was hoping to boost that number to 500,000 by last year.

"Madagascar is rich in flora and fauna but we also have our 'little train', exclaimed Andriamampiadana.

"You don't find this anywhere else and tourists will certainly not do without it."

Copyright © 2008 AFP