Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) received on Friday, June 13, the first international copper train from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since the reopening of the railway section between Lobito and Huambo, which had been closed for two months following severe flooding that affected Benguela Province in April this year.
The arrival of the train marks the resumption of freight traffic along the Lobito Corridor, one of the region’s key logistics infrastructures, used for transporting minerals and other goods between the interior of Southern Africa and Angola’s Atlantic coast.
According to LAR, rail operations between Lobito and Huambo were suspended after extensive damage caused by the floods. Emergency rehabilitation works successfully restored the railway connection under safe operating conditions, returning a strategic segment of the corridor to service.
Throughout the disruption, freight and passenger services between Huambo and Luau remained fully operational along more than 1,000 kilometres of railway infrastructure. To ensure the continuity of logistics operations, the company implemented a multimodal contingency solution through the Dango Multimodal Platform.
In a statement, Lobito Atlantic Railway Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Fournier highlighted the efforts of the teams involved in restoring the line.
“The arrival of this first international train from the DRC demonstrates the resilience of our operations and the extraordinary commitment of our teams. In just a few weeks, we restored critical infrastructure and re-established the railway connection, reaffirming the strategic importance of the Lobito Corridor for Angola and the wider region,” he said.
The company also announced that the recovery programme is now entering a second phase, which includes engineering studies aimed at identifying measures to further strengthen the railway infrastructure’s resilience against future extreme weather events.
The resumption of freight traffic from the DRC reinforces the role of the Lobito Corridor as a strategic trade route for the region, enhancing connectivity between Angola and inland Southern African markets while supporting regional logistics and export value chains.
15/06/2026
