Several companies are benefiting from what is being dubbed a railway renaissance in Africa as new opportunities emerge in markets across the continent buoyed by a rush for mineral wealth. But things are far from simple, as Paul Ash explains.

EGYPTIAN National Railways (ENR) has awarded Alstom a contract worth around €100m to supply signalling equipment for the resignalling of the 240km Beni Suef – Asyut section of the Cairo – Luxor line.

TANZANIA Zambia Rail Authority (Tazara) suspended operations on January 12, shortly after employees - who have not been paid for five months - rejected an appeal from the management to "exercise further patience whilst long-term sustainable solutions were sought."

THE president of SNCF, Mr Guillaume Pepy, and the director-general of Moroccan National Railways (ONCF), Mr Mohamed Rabie Khlie, have agreed to set up a joint company to maintain the fleet of TGV Duplex trains being supplied by Alstom for Morocco's first high-speed line.

PASSENGER Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has announced further drastic cuts to its mainline train timetable even as it pushes ahead with a €250m deal to buy 70 new locomotives from Vossloh.

TANZANIA Railway's (TRL) deputy managing director and chief finance officer have been suspended by the country's transport minister Mr Harrison Mwakyembe as investigations into the controversial acquisition of 25 wagons from Indian firm Hindustan Engineering and Industries gets underway.

A parliamentary select committee in Uganda has launched a probe into the award of an $US 8bn contract for the 250km single-track Kampala - Malaba standard-gauge railway to China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).

NAMIBIA's state-owned railway TransNamib is seeking to acquire 21 secondhand GE U20C diesel locomotives following problems with new Chinese-built motive power.

THE Kenyan parliament's Public Investment Committee (PIC) has halted a $US 41m contract awarded to a consortium led by China's Third Railway Survey and Design Institute (TSDI) to supervise construction of the Nairobi – Mombasa standard-gauge line.

THE final section of track has been laid on the first railway to serve Abuja, the Nigerian capital. Services on the 186.5km standard-gauge from Abuja north to Kaduna will start in February 2015.