RED SEA TO THE ATLANTIC
Posted on 15 January 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
A new rail project has been launched to link the Red Sea at Port Sudan with the Atlantic Ocean at Dakar in Somalia Senegal. Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu is quoted saying that the political will behind the project was confirmed during the first ministerial meeting on the scheme at Khartoum, Sudan, on 10 December 2009. Cooperation activities by OIC in Turkey and Islamic countries, he added, increased trade potentials, while the OIC Economic Summit hosted in Turkey had “opened new horizons”. New projects aimed at creating common trade areas and boosting cross border trade, are “on the way”.
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BREAK OF GAUGE IN AFRICA – VGA
Should railways in Africa of different gauges meet more than they do now, there will be the thorny issue of gauge; Standard, Cape, Metre, and a few others. Thus Sudan is Cape Gauge, Senegal is Metre Gauge, and the Bridge of the Horns and the Middle East mostly Standard Gauge.
There a number of work arounds, none particularly nice, but the newest and most elegent solution is Variable Gauge Axles (VGA).
With VGA, the wheels slide safely along the axles – at transfer tracks – to suit the gauge of the next section of track. Broad gauge VGA has been around for decades, in say Spain, even for High Speed Passenger trains.
With VGA for narrow gauge as in Africa, there are however, some potential problems. Firstly, there is less space between the wheels for the disc brakes, VGA equipment, and the traction motors of powerful freight locomotives. Secondly, the VGA locking mechanism has not yet been asked to handle more than two gauges at once as would be required in Africa. Thirdly, a VGA bogie weighs about a tonne more. Fourthly, the extra cost is unknown.
On the other hand, the VGA transfer track is only about 20m long, and the VGA trains pass through the transfer tracks at say 25km/h, which causes negligable delay.
VGA for Cape and Metre gauges are being developed in Japan and Switzerland respectively, which is good news, although neither country would particularly need the powerful VGA freight locomotives mentioned above. The Japan VGA was featured in the December 2009 Railway Gazette International, although it only considers the high speed passenger version.
More research is needed to prove that, for narrow gauge in Africa, VGA is not a mirage; it certainly sounds like a good idea if it can be made to work. With VGA, new lines can be built as high quality Standard Gauge, with international compatibility, while retaining older and weaker sections of existing gauge which then needs be upgraded only decades in the future. The Break Of Gauge mostly disappears.
It has to be said that even though VGA has been around for decades, mentions of VGA in say World Bank reports (and Railways Africa) are conspicuous by their absence. There are a half-dozen or more VGA design, though it is probably best to choose just one.
Shall Ford 30 Jan 2010
Congratulations for not confusing Dakar, Senegal with Dacca, Bangladesh. That is a really tricky one.
SF 30 Jan 2010
If this project is undertaken, the benefits are immense.
Forgot to mention that in my proposal, the Rail Link would lead to Dubailand and cross into Republic of Iran via the spectacular Sinbad the Sailor Bridge.From Republic of Iran the High speed Rail Link will rail all the way to Japan.
On christmas eve 2008 I created a similar Feasibility Framework Study of a Railway Project to link West Africa with Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This is good news for the African continent.International trade between Africa, Arabia and possibly Far East can be enhanced.My 30 page document is for free to anyone who wants to pursue this project.In my proposal the rail-link is to cross the Red Sea via the proposed Bin Laden Bridge.Further my proposal will eventually marry with the Cape-Cairo Rail Link.The African Renaissance would not be complete without new Railway Projects.The Gauteng Rail Link in South Africa and the Alstom Rail Projects in Morocco have started a new railscape on the continent.
Dakar is in Senegal not Somalia (on the Indian Ocean).
Too true. An error on our side. Dakar is in Senegal.
It is next of dreamy projects, only words and years are going and nothing on the way. And Dakar is in Senegal.