DRC Resumes Kinshasa Urban Train Service After 15-Year Suspension
Kinshasa’s urban rail service has resumed after nearly 15 years, reopening a key transport link between the capital’s eastern districts and the city centre.
The National Transport Office (Onatra) resumed passenger services on 19 August 2026 between Tshenke in Masina district and Kinshasa Central Station, providing an alternative to the heavily congested Boulevard Lumumba corridor.
The nearly 25-kilometre route includes about 10 stops. On the first day, the train departed Tshenke at 8:05 a.m. and reached Central Station at 9:23 a.m., taking approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes. Onatra deployed a 10-car train, with fares ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 Congolese francs for a one-way journey, depending on travel class.
The service currently operates on rehabilitated sections of existing railway infrastructure.
Onatra plans to establish regular services along the corridor, although the operator has not yet confirmed the full daily timetable or frequency.
The resumption follows the official relaunch of Kinshasa’s urban rail service on 30 June 2026 and forms part of the broader MetroKin programme to modernise the capital’s rail transport network.
Under the planned first phase, the Central Station–N’djili International Airport corridor is expected to be upgraded to a double-track standard-gauge railway with electrification, modern signalling, eight stations, a depot, maintenance facilities and a central control centre.
The planned stations include Central Station, Ndolo, Funa, Limete, Petrocongo, Masina, Tshenke and N’djili International Airport.
The upgraded corridor is expected to eventually accommodate more than 520,000 passengers a day.
MetroKin forms part of a longer-term plan to develop an urban rail network of approximately 300 kilometres across Kinshasa. The programme is supported by the Africa Finance Corporation, which is working with Congolese authorities as a financial partner and project developer.
The return of passenger rail services provides an additional public transport option for Kinshasa’s rapidly growing population while laying the groundwork for a larger metropolitan rail system.
The next stages will focus on modernising the corridor towards N’djili International Airport, securing financing for the planned infrastructure and expanding rail services to other parts of the capital.
