Rail transport in Liberia
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Railways in Liberia comprised two lines into the interior of the country from the port of Monrovia in the northwest, and one line from the port of Buchanan in the centre. The lines were built between 1951 and 1964 principally to transport iron ore. All three lines closed down, two due to the effects of the two Liberian Civil Wars (1989–1996 and 1999–2003). The Bong Mine Railway recommenced operations in 2003.[1] The Lamco Railway was rebuilt by Arcelor Mittal and put back into service in 2011 as far as Tokadeh, Nimba County, allowing export of iron ore from the company's mine on the Guinean border via the Port of Buchanan.[2]
1N - 3' 6" (1067 mm) gauge
2C - 4' 8.5" (1435 mm) gauge
3S - 4' 8.5" (1435 mm) gauge
History
Infrastructure
Mano River Railway (1N)
The 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge Mano River railway primarily carried freight, but had very limited passenger service between Monrovia, Mano River terminal, Brewerville, Klay, Tubmanburg and Mano River Mine. These are now disused, due to exhaustion of the iron ore deposits on the line.[3]
Bong mine railway (2C)
The Bong Mine railway was damaged during the civil war and reopened in 2003[1] by 2007[4] or 2009.[5] It had intermittent service to the following places:[3]
Monrovia Port and capital city.- Louisiana
- Sheshe
- Harrisburg
- Careysburg
- Kolata
- Motobli
- Yapagua
- Bong Mine
This railway is 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge.[6]
Lamco Railway (3S)
The Lamco railway was originally built to take iron ore from Mount Nimba - Yekepa Train station, near the Guinean border, and Tokadeh to the port of Buchanan, for export.[7] It fell into disuse and was damaged during the civil war, but was rebuilt by Arcelor Mittal from Tokadeh to the coast and returned to service in 2011.[2] This railway is 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge.[6]
Proposals
- In 2010, BSG Resources planned to build a cross-border line to export iron ore from mines near Simandou North (in Guinea) via the Liberian port of Didia.[8] 51% of BSGR is now owned by Vale. This line parallels the Lamco Railway for a considerable distance.
- In 2022 a short extension across the border into Guinea to serve iron ore deposits there was proposed. This is being promoted by High Power Exploration which has an agreement with the Guinean government to develop the Nimba Iron Ore Project. Its Liberian subsidiary Ivanhoe Liberia intends to agree shared access to the railway line between Buchanan and Tokadeh,[9] rebuild a line from there to Yekepa abandoned in 1992 and build a new line 2–3 km from Yekepa to the border. This would join a short section of new railway within Guinea to reach the mine.[10]
Accidents
In January 2006, there was an accident on the Bong Mines railway; a train travelling from the mine to Monrovia collided with a makeshift wooden trolley used by locals (known as a "Make-away"). Two were killed.[11]
On 4 November 2023, an ArcelorMittal Liberia train transporting equipment from Buchanan to Tokadeh derailed while crossing the Duo Bridge over the St. John River between Bong and Nimba counties. Equipment carried on a flatcar reportedly shifted and struck the bridge truss, severely damaging the railway bridge. The locomotive operator survived, and no injuries or deaths were reported. The New Dawn described the derailment as the tenth accident involving ArcelorMittal trains since the company resumed mining operations in Liberia.[12]
At approximately 3:54 a.m. on 27 May 2026, two ArcelorMittal Liberia freight trains collided along the Yekepa–Buchanan railway near Gbadin Camp No. 3 in Nimba County. One train was transporting iron ore from Yekepa to the Port of Buchanan, while the other was returning from Buchanan with approximately 120 empty wagons. Eight wagons derailed and four people sustained minor injuries, but no deaths were reported.[13][14] ArcelorMittal management attributed the collision in its preliminary findings to technical oversight and poor communication between the train operators. The Ministry of Transport subsequently dispatched an investigative team to assess the accident and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents.[13]
Maps
See also
- Transport in Liberia
- Transport in Guinea just across the border.
- List of rail gauges