History of rail transport in Liberia

Between 1951 and 1964 three long distance railway lines were constructed in Liberia, mainly for the transport of iron ore from mines to port facilities.

During World War II, the United States began preparations for the exploitation of the iron ore deposits in Liberia.

The main element of this investment process was the Freeport of Monrovia, which was opened in 1948[6] as the first deep sea port in the country with a rail connection.

[1] This was completed in 1963 and ran between a second iron ore loading port at Buchanan and the company mine in the Nimba Hills at Yekepa, near the Guinean border.

"[9] The Lamco Railway was built as a single track 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge line, and had eight intermediate stations with passing loops.

It was one of the first iron ore railways to be designed specifically for use by long trains, and to be fitted with modern aids to operation, including centrally controlled signalling.

February of 1965 and the first shipload of concentrates was unloaded to Rhine River barges at Rotterdam, Holland, in June of the same year."

After the end of the wars, limited activity recommenced at the Bong mines in 2003[3] and by 2007 regular passenger and freight trains were reported running.

Chinese construction crews worked on a renovation of the facilities, as China was interested in further developing Liberia's mineral resources.