Railway concessionaire Camrail, owned by Bolloré Africa Logistics, has taken delivery of two CC 3300 locomotives at the port of Douala. Representing an investment of FrCFA3bn each, the locomotives were supplied by South African manufacturer Grindrod as part of an initial batch of eight diesel heavy freight locos which are due to be accepted by the end of the year. The next pair of locos is due to arrive by the end of May. Camrail says that the locomotives will enhance the operator’s ability to run longer freight trains through their haulage capability of up to 1,500 tonnes. The acquisitions are part of the commitments made by Camrail under the terms   of its national railway concession agreement, which runs until December 31, 2034. This agreement covers railway investment totalling FrCFA230bn between 2009 and 2020, of which FrCFA158bn would be fi anced by Camrail. Camrail was established by Bolloré when it took over operation of the 980 km metre-gauge network in 1999. Camrail was born out of the privatisation of the Cameroon national Railways, initiated by the Cameroon Government in her economic boosting policy. The privatisation process which took off in the month of January 1996 ended in January 1999 with the signing of a concession agreement. CamrailL effectively started its activities on the 1st of April 1999. The concession agreement conceded to Camral: technical and commercial management of the railway System; maintenance, renewal, development and the exploitation of Railways infrastructure; management of the railway estate.

Source: http://www.railwaygazette.com/  - http://www.grindrod.co.za/  – Photo by Grindrod