Mineral Corridors Drive Africa's Rail Investment as Passenger Services Fall Behind
Zimbabwe launched its first 1,000-tonne lithium concentrate rail shipment to the Port of Maputo, highlighting the revival of freight rail linked to mining exports. Across Africa, rail investment continues to favor mineral corridors because predictable freight revenues attract governments, lenders and private investors. Guinea's Simandou Trans-Guinean Railway aims to become. . .
Zimbabwe launched its first 1,000-tonne lithium concentrate rail shipment to the Port of Maputo, highlighting the revival of freight rail linked to mining exports. Across Africa, rail investment continues to favor mineral corridors because predictable freight revenues attract governments, lenders and private investors. Guinea's Simandou Trans-Guinean Railway aims to become a rare example of a mining railway designed to carry both minerals and passengers. Zimbabwe dispatched its first 1,000-tonne rail shipment of lithium concentrate to the Mozambican port of Maputo on July 21. Private-sector partners supporting the country's national railway operator enabled the operation. However, the logistics milestone contrasts sharply with the continued deterioration of Zimbabwe's passenger rail network. Moreover, the situation reflects a broader trend across sub-Saharan Africa. Governments and investors continue to modernize rail corridors that transport copper, cobalt and lithium to seaports, while passenger stations remain underused and neglected. Zimbabwe plans to shift part of its lithium exports from road to rail through the initial shipment. The transport chain involves Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway (BBR), the state-owned National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and Mozambique's railway network before reaching the Port of Maputo, the country's main export gateway to China. Meanwhile, NRZ continues to struggle to operate reliable passenger train services. Minerals Make Rail Projects BankableZimbabwe's experience illustrates a well-established reality across sub-Saharan Africa. From the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean, railway projects backed by guaranteed freight volumes attract financing more quickly than passenger rail projects. The Lobito Corridor, which will connect Angola with the copper-producing regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, provides the clearest example. The European Union and the United States have committed billions of dollars to the project, which aims to reduce freight transit times from more than one month to approximately one week. Although policymakers highlight employment, agriculture and small businesses, Western access to critical minerals provides the project's immediate economic and strategic rationale. The same financing model operates elsewhere across the continent. In Liberia, ArcelorMittal is expanding the railway linking its iron ore mines to the Port of Buchanan to raise annual capacity to 30 million tonnes. An agreement with the Liberian government reserves part of that capacity for the state in exchange for a $200 million payment. However, authorities have announced no comparable investment program for a national passenger rail network. Similarly, in Mauritania, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) committed $275 million at the end of 2025 to rehabilitate the railway transporting iron ore, build new tracks and purchase locomotives and wagons. The lenders provided the financing directly to the state-owned mining company SNIM, illustrating why mining freight attracts capital: the cargo exists, and future revenues remain predictable. Passenger transport rarely offers the same financial guarantees. Affordable ticket prices seldom cover track maintenance, stations, staffing and rolling stock replacement. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, passenger service between Kinshasa and Matadi resumed only in 2025 after a five-year suspension, even as new railway branches continue to expand around copper mining operations. Likewise, stakeholders primarily justify Zambia's $1. 4 billion modernization of the TAZARA Railway as a means to transport greater volumes of minerals to Dar es Salaam, although passenger services remain available on the line. Guinea Offers a Different PathThe picture, however, does not remain entirely one-sided. In Kenya, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) connects Nairobi and Mombasa through modern infrastructure designed from the outset to transport both passengers and freight. Chinese loans financed much of the project, which has significantly reduced travel times while establishing a major logistics corridor linking the Port of Mombasa. Likewise, Tanzania has developed its own Standard Gauge Railway under a similar model. Passenger services already operate between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma, while authorities continue to finance multi-billion-dollar extensions that will strengthen both freight movements and public mobility. In both countries, the SGR represents an effort to balance commercial objectives with public service obligations, although freight profitability remains essential to the networks' long-term financial sustainability. Guinea could soon provide another example. The Simandou Trans-Guinean Railway, initially designed to transport up to 120 million tonnes of iron ore annually, plans to welcome its first passengers in 2027 while improving connectivity across several regions. The project includes 10 stations along its 650-kilometre route and could operate up to two daily round trips. If authorities deliver on those commitments, the railway will demonstrate that infrastructure built for mining can also improve public mobility, provided governments incorporate those requirements during project negotiations. Ultimately, Africa's next phase of railway development may depend on that approach. Resource-rich governments must secure not only railway infrastructure in exchange for mineral wealth but also contractual commitments covering passenger services, agricultural connectivity, accessible stations and regular train operations. In other words, they must transform the investment appeal of copper, iron ore and lithium into a broader tool for territorial development. This article was initially published in French by Emiliano TossouAdapted in English by Ange J. A de Berry Quenum