Railway Transport Sustainability and Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Cameroon

A sustainable and reliable railway transport system is quite pertinent in instigating production and distribution of goods and services especially in far-off enclave areas. However, the operation of this transport sector in Cameroon is yet to come to its prime. It is bogged down by a wide range of challenges which cuts across delays, poor infrastructure, and accidents occurrences linked to poor management which sometimes results from the use of old-fashioned and worn-out engines/wagons. This is in sharp contrast with other developing countries who uses Metro and TVG (Train à Grande Vitesse). This study was therefore designed to investigate into these challenges and point out key areas to ameliorate. Methodology used involved secondary and primary sourced data. Secondary data was germane from published and unpublished sources such as the Cameroon National Railway Mater Plan, Camrail website, related articles amidst others. Primary data was gotten from field studies where observations and interviews were conducted to draw insights about the Cameroon railway sector in view of the sustainability and challenges. The processed data revealed that, in terms of management, delays and late arrivals of trains based on time schedules was common. More so, frequent occurrences of accident results from poor management (overloading) the case of Eseka on October 21, 2016, along the Yaoundé-Douala railway line. Apart from overloading and accidents, infrastructure is poor especially railway tracks which lacks sufficient maintenance. More so, it was observed that, rail infrastructure since 1999 when Camrail began its operation under Boloré African Logistics, infrastructure have been a deteriorating base on observations and comparison before Camrail emerged. This study, however, strongly recommends, increase investments in Cameroon railway lines through upgrading of infrastructure, and most importantly the introduction of electric trains such as TVG and Metro which are efficient and swift to meet the needs of increasing population and to meet agenda 2035.