Revival of Africa’s railways needs a robust HE sector response

One of the flagship projects of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, launched in 2015, is the creation of an Integrated High-Speed Train Network that connects all African capitals and commercial centres to facilitate the movement of goods and people, thus reducing transport costs and relieving congestion of current systems.

Agenda 2063 clearly recognises the importance of the development of railways as key to accelerating Africa’s growth and development. Rail transport is also energy efficient and results in reduced greenhouse gas emissions. And, over long distances, trains are highly cost-efficient, burning less fuel per ton kilometre than road trucks.

Historical background

The initial railway networks in African countries were built by the European colonisers, initially to transport goods such as minerals, timber and agricultural products from inland locations to coastal ports, and subsequently to also transport passengers.

After independence, the African countries took over the operation of the networks and extended them, as for example in Kenya, South Africa and several North African countries.

Subsequently, however, railways in Africa started to suffer from neglect due to lack of funds, poor management, conflicts and political instability, and inadequate maintenance and renovation. There has also been a severe lack of skilled and experienced manpower to operate and maintain the networks.

Revival of railways

The past decade, however, has witnessed a revival of railways in Africa, as evidenced by several major multi-country projects that are under construction or are at planning stage.

The Afrail Express project, which is a high-speed passenger rail system aiming at connecting the entire African continent, is in direct response to Agenda 2063’s vision. Construction is due to begin in 2024 at multiple sites in different countries.

The first phase, which will connect Cape Town in South Africa to Casablanca in Morocco via Namibia, Angola, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Senegal, is expected to start operations in 2033.

When completed, the Afrail Express, at an estimated cost of US$90 billion, is expected to be the largest advanced industrial ecosystem development in Africa.

The Lobito Trade Facilitation Project, which is nearing completion, comprises 1,300km of railway line connecting Angola, Zambia, and the DRC. A major objective of the project is to transport minerals – especially copper and cobalt – from Zambia and the DRC to the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola.

The 1,500km Trans-Kalahari Railway line, which is scheduled to be operational in 2025, will connect the Kgatleng District of Botswana to Walvis Bay in Namibia, passing through its capital, Windhoek. It will facilitate the transportation of coal and copper for export, while establishing an important link connecting the Southern African countries.

Ethiopia and Sudan have agreed to develop a railway line of about 1,500km linking Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to Khartoum in Sudan, extending to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The objective of the Ethiopia-Sudan Railway, which will cover both freight and passenger traffic, is to reduce landlocked Ethiopia’s dependence on the Port of Djibouti, and at the same time strengthen economic ties between the two countries. The feasibility study has been completed but the current crisis in Sudan could delay the next phases of design, preparation of engineering plans and securing funding.

There have also been important railway developments at national level in recent years, for example the construction of the Lagos-Kano railway in Nigeria, the high-speed rail network in Egypt, the Metro Express Light Rail Transit system in Mauritius, and the new electric train connecting Dar es Salaam and Dodoma in Tanzania.

Skilled human resource requirements

The scale of railway projects currently taking place in Africa will create a huge demand for skilled manpower, or human resources, at all levels. The Afrail Express project, alone, is expected to provide more than 50 million job opportunities.

Although a significant proportion of these human resources will comprise craft and trades workers, an equally important component will be university graduates in several fields – especially in engineering.

The industry will require graduate engineers in civil, mechanical, electrical, transportation, ICT, logistics, etc. There is, however, already an acute shortage of engineers in Africa.

According to a 2021 UNESCO report, Africa is the continent with the lowest number of engineering professionals per capita.

Higher education’s response

Several African countries and their higher education institutions are currently responding to the training needs of the railways industry.

In South Africa, which has an extensive freight and passenger railway system, training started a couple of decades ago. In 1996, the University of Pretoria established a Chair in Railway Engineering in the department of civil engineering in partnership with Transnet freight rail.

It provides graduate training and continuing education courses for industry, and undertakes railway research. And in 2011, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, or PRASA, sponsored the creation of a Research Chair at the faculty of engineering of Stellenbosch University to undertake research in maintenance and engineering management.

Egypt is another country with an extensive railway system. In 2023, Alstom, the French multinational passenger rail transport company, established a Railway Academy in collaboration with Egypt’s Transport Ministry to ensure that a strong workforce is in place to support Egypt’s rapidly growing rail industry.

Among its courses is the nine-month Master Expert Programme designed to train fresh graduates wishing to enter the rail industry. The academy will also offer a short-term programme for engineers and a summer course.

Nigeria recently established the Federal University of Transportation, Daura (FUTD), which was built with assistance from China. In fact, FUTD is an outcome of the construction of the Lagos-Kano railway, which also received Chinese assistance.

The university, which covers all aspects of transportation, has a dedicated department of railway engineering and one of railway management, both running a bachelor degree.

Addis Ababa University, under its Institute of Technology, established the African Railway Education and Research Institute (ARERI) in 2017, which has been designated as an African Railway Center of Excellence under a World Bank-funded project.

It runs postgraduate programmes (masters and PhDs) and undertakes research and consultancy for the industry. It works closely with the Ethiopian Railways Corporation. It has so far enrolled over 300 masters students, about 90 of whom are from the East and Southern African regions.

The Railways Institute of the University of Gamal Abdel Nasser of Conakry, Guinea (UGANC), was set up under a tripartite agreement between UGANC, the Institute of Railways of Hunan in China and the SMB-Winning Consortium.

The latter built the railway line for transporting bauxite from the mines of Guinea to its port for export.

Since 2021, with the assistance of lecturers from China, the Railways Institute has trained students on its two-year programme. The graduates then undergo a five-month internship with the Winning Railway Consortium and are subsequently employed by the same company. In 2023-24, the institute enrolled more than 100 students in its various departments.

What is the way forward?

Railways, which are vital for Africa’s development, are highly complex systems and challenging to run, especially as the requirements of freight and passenger rail are different.

They also require massive investment as well as an enormous pool of qualified manpower in a range of fields. A shortage of skilled human capital, especially engineers, may threaten many of the ongoing major projects.

Higher education institutions in Africa will need to boost their engineering training to meet the expected increasing demand. Also, because of the specialised nature of the railways industry, institutions will have to work closely with the industry to understand and meet its specific requirements.

Several higher education training initiatives have emerged but more, much more, needs to be done. Also, the initiatives appear to be disparate and have an essentially national focus. What is required is a regional or even continental approach, especially for multi-country projects.

This could be achieved by establishing a consortium of higher education institutions, governments and railway companies, within a region or across Africa, for collaboration and sharing of experiences, with a view to planning the manpower requirements of the industry.

At the regional level, in the Southern African Development Community, or SADC region, this issue could be discussed at the Southern African Railways Association (SARA) annual conference and exhibition that will take place in August.

SARA, established in 1996, aims to promote rail transport across the Southern African Development Community, or SADC, region by facilitating dialogue and sharing knowledge to enhance operational efficiency, safety and competitiveness.

The matter could equally be considered by the East African Community, which has developed an East African Rail Master Plan to revive railways serving Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and extending them to Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

It would be even more effective if such a proposal could be raised at continental level. It should be on the agenda of the Africa Rail conference, which is the largest and most established annual rail event in Africa, attracting some 5,000 attendees from all stakeholders, and well over 100 sponsors and exhibitors. It will take place in May 2025.

Goolam Mohamedbhai is an internationally respected higher education expert. He is former secretary general of the Association of African Universities, former president of the International Association of Universities and former vice-chancellor of the University of Mauritius. He is also a former member of the governing council of the United Nations University and a current board member of University World News – Africa.