Luanda Bungo

Luanda Bungo Railway Station
A view of the frontage of the station
General information
LocationRua Major Kanhangulo, No. 1
Angola
Coordinates8°48′19.8″S 13°14′39.93″E / 8.805500°S 13.2444250°E / -8.805500; 13.2444250
Owned byINCFA
Operated byLuanda Railway
Platforms3
History
OpenedOctober 31, 1889
Rebuilt2010

Luanda Bungo Railway Station is the main railway station in the Angolan capital of Luanda. The station is located in the Ingombota District of Luanda. It was inaugurated in 1889, along with the first 45-kilometer section of the Ambaca Railway.[1] The station building was classified as Historical and Cultural Heritage site of Angola in 2001.[2] The name comes from the word "Mbungo", which in Kimbundu means "horn", which is a descriptor of the topography of the city from 1846 with trains making a roundabout motion from the interior to the coastline around a large hill on the northern edge of the city center.[3]

Architecture

The station building consists of two floors with a rectangular floorplate. There is a trainyard to the east of the structure which contained three platforms for passengers. The building is of Portuguese colonial design with a simple, non-ornamented facade painted light yellow and with gray windows. The cornice of the station contains the inscription Empresa do Caminho de Ferro de Luanda. According to the original project, the main facade should have included a clock and the acronym CFAA - "Companhia Real dos Caminhos de Ferro through d'Africa".[4]

The station is in a state of good condition and has undergone few major design changes since its inauguration. The second floor of the structure is currently used as an administrative space, while the old warehouse and first floor has been refurbished to house the ticket offices and the passenger waiting room.[5][6] Passengers enter and exit the station on Rua Major Kanhangulo. The road is a short walk to Luanda Bay, Port of Luanda and the Central Business District.

Modernization

This station is one of the six stations of the Luanda Railway that are being remodeled as part of a project to modernize and improve service between Ingombota and the new Angola International Airport in Zango, Viana. As part of this project, new multimodal building is being built to the east of the existing station.[7] There were two projects prior to the current refurbishment. One in 2010, which provided for the construction of an office building and a station adjacent to the historic building, and another from 2014. Construction on the new terminal began in 2014 but has been stalled. As part of this project, plans to refurbish an old coach house behind the station were shelved and the building was demolished in 2016 in preparation for a newer, larger and more modern rail terminus.[8][9][10]

Services

The station is the starting point of the Luanda Railway, which has three lines. The three lines travel between Luanda Bungo, Luanda Musseques, Malanje, Dondo, Angola and Catete, Ícolo e Bengo. Luanda Bungo is the terminal station and one of the fifteen stations of Luanda's suburban train service. Trains both national and regional terminate at Luanda Bungo.

Service Terminals Lengtht Stations Duration
Luanda Suburban Luanda Bungo ↔ Catete 64 km 14 2:01
Medium Haul Luanda Musseques ↔ Dondo 181 km 14 3:28
Long Haul Luanda Musseques ↔ Malanje 414 km 24 11:44

See also

References

  1. ^ Araújo, Sara Laíde Pinto (2017). A estação da Cidade Alta de Luanda e a linha de Ambaca: comparação com situações semelhantes em Portugal (Tese) (in Portuguese). Universidade Lusíada.
  2. ^ "Roteiro Estação do Bungo". Rede Angola. 19 Aug 2015. Retrieved 23 Mar 2019.
  3. ^ Martins, João Maria (2014). Luanda, invenção de uma capital. Braga: Gato do Bosque. p. 230. ISBN 978-989-98995-1-3.
  4. ^ Henriques, Francisco (2015). Caminho de Ferro de Luanda 127 anos – Uma História Viva. Luanda: EAL. p. 15.
  5. ^ "Caminho de Ferro de Luanda-EP - Fotos". Caminho de Ferro de Luanda. Facebook. 29 December 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  6. ^ Ribeiro, Rui. "Estação do Bungo com novas Instalações em construção". Webrails.tv. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Segunda linha férrea do Caminho-de-Ferro de Luanda com 40 quilómetros já concluídos". Sapo. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Edifício da Esação Central de Luanda". Anteprojetos. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  9. ^ Luanda railroad station (3D film LT Studios) (in Portuguese). 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Luanda, Angola" (Map). Google Maps. Luanda. 2016.