SA company delivers passenger coaches to Angolan client

12th December 2014 By: Bruce Montiea - Creamer Media Reporter

SA company delivers  passenger coaches to Angolan client

IN THE AIR Dominex delivered eight sleeper coaches, two restaurant/kitchen coaches and one power car to Angola’s major railway line, Caminho de Ferro de Benguela

Ten passenger coaches and one power car were delivered to Angola’s major railway line Caminho de Ferro de Benguela (CFB), in Lobito, by South African manufacturing and exporting company Dominex in a project that was completed in October, says Dominex CEO Kirk Christodoulakis.

The project entailed the reconditioning and delivery of the passenger coaches, which consist of eight sleeper coaches, two restaurant/kitchen coaches and a power car, he explains.

He says the project started in March and was completed and delivered to the client in October.

CFB links the Port of Lobito to the eastern border town of Luau, in Moxico province, where a new international airport is under construction.

“The project consisted of various teams. Each team consisted of 10 to 40 personnel working on different sectors of refurbishing the coaches. We had an electrical team, an interior rebuilding team, specialist team on dual brake systems, vacuum brake, air brake, and air conditioning specialists, and a management team,” he elaborates.

Some of the challenges in the project included difficulties in fitting the duel brake system under the coaches. The kitchen/dining coach was also a challenge as the team had to make the interior space accommodate both the kitchen and the seating areas.

“However, we were able to overcome these challenges since we had an excellent team of specialists with relevant past experience and knowledge of how to deal with these problems,” says Christodoulakis.

He tells Engineering News that Dominex had previously supplied two train sets to CFB in 2011 and were chosen again as the preferred supplier for this project as a result of its proven ability.

He adds that Angola is rebuilding and upgrading the railway infrastructure for the future, responding, in particular, to the demand from the emerging and growing middle class for more executive rail transportation and accommodation.

“The CFB is a very important and strategic Angolan rail network, not only because it provides access to the inner part of the country but, more importantly, because it links to the copperbelts of Katanga province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as to Zambia.”

The project was executed in conjunction with freight forwarding company Mentor Freight Services and Belgian-based shipping line SafmarineMPV.

“The partnership is beneficial to us, as we are able to have access to a reliable and frequent freight forwarding and shipping service. This, in turn, enables us to take advantage of the significant business opportunities in the rest of Africa.