Railways in
Cameroon
A Camrail freight train passes Bessengué station in Douala
hauled by Bombardier MLW MX620 no.CC2221, a 2200hp Co-Co diesel electric locomotive.
The first railway in what was then the German protectorate of Kamerun was a privately owned narrow gauge line opened in 1902 from Victoria (present day Limbe) to Soppo, near Buea, a distance of 43km. The first public railway was a 160km line from Douala to a point near Mount Mananguba, opened in 1910. It was built to metre gauge, then in common use for minor railways in Germany. The line was completed through to Yaoundé under French administration between the First and Second World Wars.
Metre gauge was also used for subsequent expansion, which consisted of a number of branches from the original main line and a new 667km main line from Yaoundé to Ngaoundéré, opened in 1987 by the Republic. A concession for the entire network was awarded to a private operator in 1999. There are no international connections.
Around 2024, construction began a new 510km standard gauge railway connecting iron ore mining operations in the Mbalam area of southeastern Cameroon with a new Atlantic port near Kribi. Completion is anticipated in 2030. A possible 70km extension from Mbarga could serve a mining development at Mont Nabeba in the Republic of the Congo.
In 2026, mining company Camalco began operating its own trains on the Camrail main line from a loading point near its Minim Martap bauxite mines tothe port of Douala.
Also in 2026, memorandum of understanding was signed for a new 185km line from Edéa, on the Douala to Yaoundé main line, via the port of Kribi and a new port at Lolabé, to Campo. This would serve to connect production areas, the Port of Kribi, and Cameroon’s southern regions.
Also in 2026, expressions of interest were sought for the implementation of various rail enhancements, including a new a 700km line from Ngaoundéré to N’Djamena in Chad, about 170km of which would be in Cameroon.
© 2006-2026 Glyn Williams
Photo image: Z Ngnogue from Wikimedia Commons