Transport in Liberia

Transport in Liberia is as follows:

Railways

"total:"490 km (328 km single track)
"note:"in 1989, Liberia had three rail systems owned and operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with the Liberian Government; one of these, the Lamco Railroad, closed in 1989 after iron ore production ceased; the other two were shut down by the civil war; large sections of the rail lines have been dismantled; approximately 60 km of railroad track was exported for scrap (2001)
"standard gauge:"345 km 1.435-m gauge
"narrow gauge:"145 km 1.067-m gauge

There are two separate systems, with two lines from Monrovia and one line from Buchanan.

Railway links with adjacent countries

* Sierra Leone - no - break-of-gauge 1067mm
* Guinea - no - break-of-gauge - 1435mm & 1067mm
* Ivory Coast - no - break-of-gauge 1000mm

2007

* Talks started with the Mittal Steel company to reopen the former Lamco iron mine and railway.

2006

* UPGRADE FOR BONG - 15 June 2006 - Negotiations for upgrading the 250km Bong Mining Railway are at an advanced stage. Ircon (the Indian Railway Construction Corporation), the preferred bidder, hopes to sign a contract worth some $US110 million before the end of June, according to managing director. [ [http://railwaysafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=35 Railways Africa - UPGRADE FOR BONG ] ]

Maps

* [http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/liberia.pdf UN Map]
* [http://wwwnotes.reliefweb.int/w/fullMaps_Af.nsf/luFullMap/7422FA6B33D8E34085256F25006E0364/$File/unjlc_ref_hi_lib120803.pdf?OpenElement UNJLC Map]
* [http://www.reliefweb.int/library/maps/liberiajlc.pdf ReliefWeb Map]

Towns served by rail

Existing

* Monrovia - port and national capital - 1435mm and 1067mm
* Brewerville
* Vonzuahn
* Tubmanburg
* Mano River
* Jenje, Liberia - railhead - 145km (1067mm)
* Careysburg
* Bong, Liberia - railhead and mine - 78km (1435mm)
* Buchanan - port on 1435mm gauge line
* Mehla
* Yela, Liberia
* Sanokwelle
* Sanniquellie
* Yekepa - iron ore mine
* Nimba, Liberia - railhead (Lamco) and mine.

Proposed

Closed

References

* [http://www.fahrplancenter.com/LiberiaEntry.html]

* Railways of Liberia

Highways

"total:"10,600 km (there is major deterioration on all highways due to heavy rains and lack of maintenance)
"paved:"657 km
"unpaved:"9,943 km (1996 est.)

When construction and reconstruction of roads in Liberia is complete, Trans-West African Coastal Highway will cross the country, connecting it to Freetown (Sierra Leone), Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), and eventually to 11 other nations of ECOWAS.

Ports and harbors

* Buchanan - railhead of 1435mm gauge for civil war affected iron mine at Nimba
* Greenville
* Harper
* Monrovia

Merchant marine

"total:"1,513 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 51,912,244 GRT/DWT|79,297,046|metric|first=yes
"ships by type:"barge carrier 3, bulk 313, cargo 89, chemical tanker 167, combination bulk 16, combination ore/oil 32, container 318, liquefied gas 99, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 23, petroleum tanker 302, refrigerated cargo 69, roll on/roll off 20, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 13, vehicle carrier 42
"note:"includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 9, Australia 2, Austria 15, Belgium 9, Brazil 5, Canada 4, Cayman Islands 1, Chile 7, China 39, Croatia 11, Denmark 4, Ecuador 1, Estonia 1, Germany 437, Greece 154, Hong Kong 69, India 5, Indonesia 1, Israel 1, Italy 5, Japan 90, Latvia 20, Man, Isle of 5, Monaco 56, Netherlands 12, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 1, Norway 103, Pakistan 1, Portugal 5, Russia 66, Saudi Arabia 21, Singapore 20, Slovenia 1, South Africa 1, South Korea 10, Spain 2, Sweden 9, Switzerland 17, Taiwan 29, Turkey 3, Ukraine 4, United Arab Emirates 12, United Kingdom 39, United States 113, Uruguay 3, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.)

Airports

47 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

"total:"2
"over 3,047 m:"1
"1,524 to 2,437 m:"1 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways

"total:"45
"1,524 to 2,437 m:"4
"914 to 1,523 m:"7
"under 914 m:"34 (2002)

See also

* Liberia

References