Maputo, Mozambique, 11 Jan – The company Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Mo?ambique recorded less cargo transported by rail and more cargo processed in ports from January through October 2009, the company’s president has stated in Maputo.

During that period the company processed in ports 10.16 million tonnes of diverse cargo versus 9.76 million tonnes in 2008, a rise of 4.2 percent, said Rui Fonseca.

In the rail sector, CFM transported 528.8 million tonnes/km versus 599 million tonnes/km in the same period in 2008, or 2.4 percent less.

Fonseca said the drop in the rail sector was due to the economic recession, which was particularly felt in southern Mozambique’s rail system, the only one directly operated by CFM.

“The tonne/kilometre is the traffic unit that generates most of our income, so we have to reverse this situation by transporting more on long-haul routes and also increasing cargo volumes on shorter routes,” he said.

As for passenger transport service, Fonseca said that from January through October 2009 some 2.19 million people were transported versus the 1.7 million recorded in the same period of 2008, an increase of 28.6 percent.

Last year the company acquired a total of 38 vehicles (29 train carriages, four restaurant cars, an equal number of generator wagons and a baggage car), a US$1.9 million investment, which will soon enter service in the southern rail network.

(macauhub)