Transguinean Railways
The Transguinean Railways is a proposed set of heavy duty standard gauge railways in Guinea to support heavy duty 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.
North Trans-Guinean Railways (Proposed)
This 135 km long Standard Gauge railway connects bauxite mines at Boffa with a new port at Boké, both places in the north of Guinea.
A Joint Venture has already launched the $US 3bn Boffa – Boké Project which a 135km line from the Dapilon River Terminal to new mining areas of Santou II and Houda. The line is intended to carry bauxite, etc.
See: Boffa-Boke Railway
South Trans-Guinean Railways (Proposed)
This 650km long railway connects the iron ore mines around Simandou in the south-east of Guinea with the new port of Matakong on a coastal island between the capital of Conakry and the Sierra Leone border. Shallow waters require a 20km long pier to reach deep water suitable for Panamax sized ships. The total cost of this project, including mine, port and railway, etc., is estimated at US$17b. The project is being run by BOKÉ Mining Company (SMB) which has won the tender to exploit blocks 1 and 2 of the iron-ore deposits in Simandou, Guinea, SMB is a joint venture.
Borders
The new line tends to follow the southern border with Sierra Leone and Liberia.