Rail Transport : Framework for Improving Railway Sector Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa

In most of the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries railways have played, throughout history, a key part in the economic development maintaining a dominant role in transporting freight and passengers at low costs. During the last 50 years, the road transport in the region as throughout the world has expanded rapidly due to the aggressive development of the automobile industry. African governments have invested mainly in road infrastructure improvement, neglecting railways. The liberalization in road transport and the slow response of railways to adapt to the new market conditions resulted in dramatic traffic decline in rail transport. By 1990 most of the Sub-Saharan African railways were in virtual bankruptcy, requiring permanent cash injection and large investments in infrastructure and rolling stock. To address the crisis, many governments have considered concessions as a solution, and between the mid-1990s and 2010 most of the railways were concessioned. Currently, more than 70 percent of the rail transport activities in the region (excluding South Africa) are managed by private operators. The World Bank Group (IDA and IFC) has supported most concession processes through grants and loans, investing since 1996 more than one billion dollars to support the efforts of the governments and private operators. The recommendations suggested in the present document are based on a comprehensive approach for improving the performance of the railway sector in parallel with the enhancement of the governance of the transport sector. The rhythm of implementation of such a complex set of recommendations may vary from country to country depending on local conditions and will require, in any case, a long period of time. Nevertheless, the dramatic status of the railway transport sector in SSA requires rapid actions. In this respect, the present work includes a selected list of most urgent recommendations to be implemented in the first stage. The way ahead for improving the performance of railways in Sub-Saharan Africa is a complex endeavor that cannot be achieved without the strong involvement of the private sector.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Olievschi, Vasile Nicolae
Format:	Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-03
Subjects:	ACCESS CHARGE, ACCOUNTABILITY, ACCURATE ASSESSMENT, AUDITS, AUTOMOBILE, AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY, AVERAGE SPEEDS, AXLE LOAD, BORDER CROSSING, BRIDGE, BRIDGES, BUSES, CAPACITY BUILDING, CAPITAL BASE, CAPITALIZATION, COACHES, COMMUTER SERVICES, COMPETITIVE TRANSPORT MARKET, CONCESSION AGREEMENTS, CONCESSION CONTRACTS, CONCESSION FEES, CONCESSIONS, CORRIDOR, COSTS OF TRANSPORT, DEBT, DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAY SECTOR, EARTHWORKS, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY, ECONOMIES OF SCALE, EMISSIONS, ENGINEERING STRUCTURES, EXCISE TAX, FARES, FINANCIAL BURDEN, FINANCIAL CAPACITY, FINANCIAL DATA, FINANCIAL EFFICIENCY, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE, FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, FINANCING OF INFRASTRUCTURE, FIXED COSTS, FORWARDERS, FRAMEWORK, FREIGHT, FREIGHT OPERATIONS, FREIGHT TRAFFIC, FREIGHT TRANSPORT, FREQUENT DERAILMENTS, FUEL, FUEL PRICES, GENERATION, GENERATION CONCESSIONS, GREENHOUSE GAS, HAULAGE, HIGH TRAFFIC DENSITY, INCOME, INFRASTRUCTURE COST, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS, INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE REHABILITATION, INSURANCE, INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, INTERNATIONAL UNION OF RAILWAYS, INVESTMENT IN RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE, ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT BANK, LAND TRANSPORT, LAND TRANSPORTATION, LAWS, LEASING, LEGAL FRAMEWORK, LOCOMOTIVES, LONGER DISTANCES, LORRIES, MANAGEMENT CONTRACTS, MARKET CONDITIONS, MARKET DISTORTIONS, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, MODE OF TRANSPORT, MODES OF TRANSPORT, NATIONAL RAILWAY, NATURAL RESOURCES, OPERATING COSTS, PASSENGER, PASSENGER RAIL, PASSENGER REVENUES, PASSENGER SERVICES, PASSENGER TRAFFIC, PASSENGER TRAINS, PASSENGER TRANSPORT, PASSENGER-KILOMETER, PASSENGERS, POLICE, PORT AUTHORITIES, PORT CONCESSIONS, PORTS, PPP, PRIVATE INVESTOR, PRIVATE OPERATORS, PRIVATE RAILWAYS, PRIVATIZATION, PRODUCTIVITY, PSO, PUBLIC FINANCE, PUBLIC FUNDS, PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP, PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATION, RAIL, RAIL ACTIVITIES, RAIL CONCESSIONS, RAIL CORRIDORS, RAIL FREIGHT, RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE, RAIL INFRASTRUCTURES, RAIL MARKET, RAIL NETWORK, RAIL NETWORKS, RAIL OPERATIONS, RAIL REVENUE, RAIL SECTOR, RAIL SERVICES, RAIL TRAFFIC, RAIL TRANSIT, RAIL TRANSIT TIME, RAIL TRANSPORT, RAIL TRANSPORT ACTIVITIES, RAIL TRANSPORT SECTOR, RAILS, RAILWAY, RAILWAY ACTIVITIES, RAILWAY COMPANIES, RAILWAY COMPANY, RAILWAY CONCESSION, RAILWAY CONCESSIONAIRES, RAILWAY CONCESSIONS, RAILWAY INDUSTRY, RAILWAY LINE, RAILWAY LINES, RAILWAY MANAGEMENT, RAILWAY MARKET, RAILWAY NETWORK, RAILWAY NETWORKS, RAILWAY OPERATIONS, RAILWAY OPERATOR, RAILWAY OPERATORS, RAILWAY PERFORMANCE, RAILWAY REGULATOR, RAILWAY RESTRUCTURING, RAILWAY SECTOR, RAILWAY SERVICES, RAILWAY STAFF, RAILWAY SYSTEM, RAILWAY SYSTEMS, RAILWAY TRAFFIC, RAILWAY TRANSPORT, RAILWAY TRANSPORT SECTOR, RAILWAYS, RAILWAYS CORPORATION, RAILWAYS OPERATIONS, RATE OF RETURN, REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION, REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, RETURN ON EQUITY, ROAD, ROAD FUNDS, ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE, ROAD NETWORK, ROAD NETWORKS, ROAD TRAFFIC, ROAD TRANSPORT, ROADS, ROLLING STOCK, ROUTE, SAFETY, SAFETY REGULATIONS, SERVICE CONTRACTS, SHARING, SPAN, SPEED, STATIONS, STONE, SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY, TAX, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TIMBER, TRACK, TRACKS, TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC DENSITY, TRAFFIC GROWTH, TRAFFIC INTENSITY, TRAFFIC LEVELS, TRAFFIC UNITS, TRAFFIC VOLUMES, TRAIN DRIVERS, TRANSPARENCY, TRANSPORT ACTIVITIES, TRANSPORT ACTIVITY, TRANSPORT CAPACITY, TRANSPORT COSTS, TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURES, TRANSPORT MARKET, TRANSPORT MODE, TRANSPORT MODES, TRANSPORT OPERATIONS, TRANSPORT POLICY, TRANSPORT SAFETY, TRANSPORT SECTOR, TRANSPORT SERVICES, TRANSPORT SYSTEM, TRANSPORT SYSTEMS, TRANSPORT TARIFFS, TRANSPORTATION, TRANSPORTATION MARKET, TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, TRUCKS, TUNNELS, URBAN SERVICES, VEHICLES, VOLUME OF TRAFFIC, WAGONS, WEALTH,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/03/17893226/rail-transport-framework-improving-railway-sector-performance-sub-saharan-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16557
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