NIGERIA’s capital Abuja finally joined the national railway network on July 26, when a 186.5km standard-gauge link to Kaduna was inaugurated by president Mr Muhammadu Buhari in the presence of transport minister Mr Rotimi Amaechi and Mr Freeborn Edetanlaen Okhiria, acting managing director of Nigerian Railways Corporation (NRC).

DALIAN Locomotive and Rolling Stock, a subsidiary of China’s CRRC Corporation, has rolled out the first of 15 trains for the initial phase of the metro network in Nigeria’s largest city Lagos.

SOUTH Africa’s public enterprises deputy minister, Mr Buleani Magwanishe, marked the completion of the first phase of Transnet’s project to increase capacity on the heavy-haul coal line between the Waterberg district of Limpopo province and the port of Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, on July 14.

CASA Transport has launched a tender for a contract to operate Casablanca's expanding light rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) networks for five years from the end of 2017.

The first five trains out of a planned fleet of 600 six-car EMUs has been completed by the Gibela consortium for operation on South African commuter networks as production begins to shift to a new domestic facility. Paul Ash explains how this massive project is progressing.

Gautrain, South Africa's first standard-gauge railway, has confounded many of its critics by cutting journey times in the Pretoria and Johannesburg area and attracting a loyal ridership. Plans are now being drawn up to extend the network to cope with Johannesburg's rapidly-expanding population, as Paul Ash reports.

Kenya is on course to complete a new Chinese-funded 472km standard-gauge railway line linking Mombasa with Nairobi in the second half of 2017. Shem Oirere reports from Nairobi on progress so far and assesses the project's prospects for success.

CHINA Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) signed a contract with CRRC Qishuyan, China, for on May 30 for 56 diesel locomotives, which will be used on the initial phase of Kenya's standard-gauge railway.

CASA Transport has awarded Yapi Merkezi, Turkey, a €83m contract to construct the 14.6km Line 2 of the Casablanca light rail network following an international tender in which four other groups participated.