International Railroad Discussion > Rovos Dar es Salaam to Lobito

Rovos's Dar es Salaam to Lobito service kicks off in July

Eagerly anticipated, now booked out until 2021

The fare is eye watering, https://www.rovos.com/journeys/dar-and-lobito
You need to pack a tux, evening meals are formal

Rovos have a fleet of ex Australian GL26C plus a single G26C. On long distance hauls north of the South African border they pull a spare (dead) loco, and a tankcar of diesel

Part of the trip will be through the DRC (Lubumbashi - Dilolo), before the Angolan leg over the rebuilt Benguela Railway

The challenging leg will be through the DRC, this line currently sees around one movement of copper concentrate from Kolwezi to Angola per week, SNCC use Chinese CKD8C1 (96 tonnes)

From Rovos Literature, and SNCC press release of a CKD8C1 at Kasaji, inaugural trip over the refurbished line in August 2016




 

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This letter expresses the frustrations faced by Rovos, in providing a first world service in third world countries.

Compounding the problem is Transnet's monopoly over rail in South Africa.

http://www.rovos.com/blog/bigreputation/
 

Thanks for posting this. I've done the Dar trip twice and it's highly recommended. Yes the cost is high, but if you compare it on a per night basis including the hotels and all meals and drinks, it isn't at all out of line with similar luxury trains and much less than many such as Prestige service on The Canadian and the Belmond Orient Express.  I'm eager to do the Lobito trip but wanted to see how the first one went before booking. Guess now I'll need to wait until 2021 assuming the first one is successful.  Rovos Rail really is a family run business. Passengers feel more like guests in Rohan's home than on a big corporate entity. I could go on and on about the service, food, etc. But you really need to experience it for yourself to see the difference. 

Are there any steep mountain grades on the route?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Pretoria_train_accident