According to the Director General of the Angolan Railways Institute (INCFA), Ottoniel Manuel, each coach can carry a total of 62 people. However, measures imposed by the Government establish that trains can only carry 50 per cent of their maximum capacity, meaning that each coach will now run with only 31 passengers.
"One carriage has a maximum capacity of 62 passengers. The trains run with nine or 10 carriages, on an average per trip of around 500 or 600 passengers," he explained to Jornal de Angola.
These three railroads carry around 4.5 million people per year, corresponding to a transport of around 195,000 people per month and eight thousand daily.
The losses registered in the two months in which the country was in a state of emergency will only be calculated more in the coming months. According to Ottoniel Manuel, the biggest concern now "is to ensure that the movement of goods continues, because it is the primary source of revenue for the payment of wages of company workers".
According to him, during the last two months these railways have transported around 40,000 tons of goods.
He also spoke of the problems the sector might face, complaining about the lack of spare parts for trains.
