Passenger traffic on the Kinshasa–Matadi railway line could resume soon after nearly two months of suspension, Jean-Claude Ngoma Moussa, Onatra's railway operations director in Matadi, told Radio Okapi.

According to the National Transport Office (Onatra), the service disruption is due to technical problems affecting the trains assigned to the route. The railcars operating between Kinshasa and Matadi are currently undergoing maintenance at the company’s depot in Kinshasa.

Ngoma Moussa said the maintenance work is “almost complete.” Technical tests are expected to be conducted in the coming days before passenger train services gradually resume.

At this stage, however, no firm date has been announced. Onatra says services will restart “very soon,” but the timeline remains dependent on the completion of maintenance work and the results of the final tests.

The suspension has raised concerns among passengers, particularly in Matadi. For many travelers, the train provides an important alternative to road transport on the route between Kinshasa and Matadi, the country’s main port city, even though road travel remains the dominant mode of transportation.

Fragile Service

The Kinshasa-Matadi line was relaunched in the second half of 2025 after several years of disruptions and interruptions. The relaunch aimed to restore regular train services along a strategic corridor that plays an important role in passenger mobility and economic activity between Kinshasa and Kongo Central.

Since returning to service, however, the line has faced several interruptions. In November 2025, Onatra suspended traffic on the route, particularly on the Kimwenza-Lemba section, after severe weather damaged parts of the infrastructure. The company said the suspension was necessary to ensure safe operations.

In March 2026, another technical incident was reported by local media. An express train traveling from Matadi to Kinshasa became stranded in a rural area about 40 kilometers from Kisantu, causing delays of more than 24 hours for several hundred passengers.

These successive incidents highlight the challenges of rebuilding reliable passenger rail services on the corridor. Beyond returning the trains to operation, the longer-term task will be to ensure the reliability of the equipment, maintain high maintenance standards, and improve the safety and resilience of the railway infrastructure.

Ronsard Luabeya