João Lourenço's train journey, which served to "get to know this resource up close" and in depth, "revealed a set of challenges that will need to be overcome so that the transport of passengers by rail can occur with safety guarantees and comfort", says a statement from CIPRA, to which VerAngola had access.
Currently, the trains on that route are operating in "precarious conditions", due to the "persistence of informal markets, the movement of street vendors and animals, in addition to the accumulation of rubbish and other debris".
In view of this observation, the head of state called an urgent work meeting, which took place this Wednesday afternoon, at the Presidential Palace, with those responsible for different ministerial departments and other entities related to the "process of creating conditions for the trips and future arrivals to the new airport are facilitated".
Following the meeting, João Lourenço wrote an order "noting that the numerous safety constraints of railway operation persist, which lead to daily human losses; the theft and vandalization of rolling stock and the line; the deposit of solid waste; the sale and the reduction of the normal speed of trains, therefore there is an urgent need to reverse the current situation, within the program to improve the quality of existing infrastructures and the provision of customer service services to passengers", reads the communicated.
The document refers to the urgency of guaranteeing "safety conditions, rehabilitation and sealing of the line, implementation of the communication and signaling system, cleaning of the permanent route, removal of interference and construction of pedestrian crossings, to restore technical and operational transport capacity" of the Luanda Railway on the route that connects Bungo-Baia-Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport.
In this way, the statement said, the President of the Republic authorized the expenditure and formalization of the opening of the "emergency contracting procedure, based on material criteria, for the conclusion" of three contracts. They are: the contract for the segregation of the railway corridor of the Luanda Railway on the Bungo-Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport section (emergency stage); the contract for the preparation of projects, coordination and management of the contract for the segregation of the Luanda Railway on the Bungo-Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport section (emergency stage); and also the contract for monitoring the contract for the segregation of the railway corridor of the Luanda Railway on the Bungo-Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport section (emergency stage).
Therefore, the railway stations, as well as the areas close to this railway section, will be subject to works to improve train circulation, currently conditioned by some interference on the road, such as street vendors, among others, said the president of the Board of Directors of the National Land Transport Agency, Enio Costa, adding that the train is expected to transport more than 700 people on the frequencies, writes Angop.
Paulo Nóbrega, the airport coordinator, said that the equipment for the full operation of the airport is being tested and the workforce will be trained to operate in the infrastructure.
It is worth remembering that, during this Wednesday's visit, the President of the Republic traveled by train the more than 40 kilometers that form part of the Bungo-António Agostinho Neto International Airport railway route.
