Belgian Congo 65 RAILWAYS ville and Kambove, to Bukama on the Lualaba (upper Congo ), a single line, 1.067 metre gauge, 468 miles in length .

The line is of primary importance for the develop ment of the mining district of Katanga, which in the meantime finds its most convenient outlet along the railway to Beira. At some future date, however, the Katanga Railway will be joined, between Kambove and Bukama, by the Benguela line from Lobito Bay in Angola, and when this happens much of the Katanga traffic will probably be diverted to the west coast.

The permanent way of the Katanga Railway had been constructed to the terminus at Bukama by 1916, but for several months rails could not be obtained for the last 30 miles of line. Ultimately, however, a sufficient number were taken up from an uncom pleted line between Tabora and the Kagera river, a projected branch of the Central Railway in German East Africa. With the help of these it became possible to complete by August 1917 the final section , in which the line is carried across the Mitumba Mountains, descending sharply from the summit (9,960 ft. ) to Bukama. From this point on the upper Congo through communication has now been established northward over a distance of 2,300 miles, by railway and steamship services alternatively, along the Congo to the Atlantic, and southward by rail to Capetown, 2,600 miles distant. The journey from the Cape to Elisabethville occupies six and a half days.

(d) The Mayumbe Railway (Chemins de fer vicinaux du Mayumbe), in the coastal region , from Boma to Chela on the Lubuzi river. It is a single line, of narrow gauge (24 inches) and 85 miles in length, and taps the rich cocoa, coffee, and timber districts in Mayumbe. It is being extended to the Cabinda 1 For discussion of this question in connexion with the competing interests in the trade of Katanga, see below ; pp. 105–6, 111-12 .

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