CNR Type CKD8C1 diesel-electric locomotives for SNCC.The locomotive contract was signed in Kinshasa on December 5 2013.

DR CONGO: A batch of 18 CNR Beijing February 7 Railway Transport Equipment Co Type CKD8C1 diesel-electric locomotives ordered by national railway company SNCC was shipped from the Chinese port of Tianjin on April 8.

 

The new locomotives were procured as part of the Multimodal Transport Project, which was launched in in 2010 with the aim of restoring the financial and operational viability of the 1 067 mm gauge network. The World Bank is providing US$375m in grant funding for the programme.

 

The locomotive contract was signed in Kinshasa on December 5 2013 by representatives from CNR, Bank of Congo and China Shandong Economic & Technical Co-operation Group. CNR February 7 said it was the second-largest locomotive export contract it had won, after a contract to supply 112 locomotives to Cuba.

 

A feature article on the revival of SNCC appeared in the July 2014 issue of Railway Gazette International, which subscribers can access in the digital archive.