Deadliest Roads - Congo Katanga

Deadliest Roads and Trains Congo Katanga

As a rule of thumb, railway maintenance and service is shoddy in DRC or Congo (The larger Congo with Kinshasa as it’s capital. The smaller Congo to the Northwest has Brazzaville as it’s capital. It
can be a bit confusing. We are definitely in DRC)
This is a deadliest roads episode but it’s all about the Swallow, a train, originating in the province of Katanga. Congo Katanga.
The train left Lubumbashi five days ago is expected to stop in Kamina. First train to stop here in five months. Passengers and vendors wait. As news of the arrival spreads, people make their way to the station. A phenomenon that repeats itself along the entire passage from East to West.
We’re traveling with the Swallow.
Starting point Lubumbashi in the Southeast,
heading west across the southern half of the country via Kamina to Ilebo. No time table. Just wait. For the train to come. Eventually it does. The journey is wild, wonderful, boisterous, and beautiful. You can’t mind crowded trains though. No social distancing here (the footage was shot way before the pandemic although I can’t imagine it’s much different now)
Travel with the train is cheap
It stops everywhere. There’s a jump on jump off thing going on. And an instant pop up market at every stop.