It all happened at the beginning of last month, when intense rains damaged the hydraulic passage between Chanja and Olivença. This damage forced the trains to be stopped and requalification work to be carried out which, according to Carlos Roll, the company's commercial director, lasted a month.
The person responsible, speaking to Angop, said that the works cost the company 100 million kwanzas and that with the restoration of passenger and freight train circulation they will "rush" to make up for the losses.
In terms of frequencies, according to Carlos Roll, there is a train every day connecting Lubango (Huíla) to Menongue (Cuando Cubango) and another locomotive traveling to Jamba, stretching from Dongo to Tchamutete.
Quoted by Angop, the official also highlighted that this recovery gives farmers along the line the opportunity to transport their producers, as the harvest period is approaching.
Furthermore, passengers point to benefits with the resumption of train circulation. According to Alexandre de Carvalho, quoted by Rádio Nacional de Angola (RNA), when there were no trains, passengers had to use taxis, whose prices were high, as they spent up to 3000 kwanzas on the train and in cars the cost was around 7000 kwanzas.
"The situation was somewhat complicated. Using the train as transport has made it a lot easier for us, firstly it is the price (...) and then it is comfort and safety", he said, adding that when there were no trains they traveled by car to at the stop and then took "the taxi, which was a little high, they changed the price when the train stopped".
