[1] From its terminal at the Atlantic port of Luanda, the railway heads inland towards Eastern Angola, but ends in the middle of the country at Malanje.

In November 2010, CFL announced hourly passenger trains between Viana and Textang;[6] in December 2010, container services commenced, serving a dry port near Viana,[7] and in January 2011 the first train reached Malanje.

In mid-July 2011, the CFL announced the introduction of electronic ticketing on an experimental basis for inter-provincial journeys, beginning on 18 July.

[11] In 2011, 34 people died from 70 crashes and incidents on the suburban stretch between the Luanda, Viana and Icolo e Bengo municipalities, most of them in cases where drivers or pedestrians tried to cross the line at illegal crossings, said CFL marketing director Francisco Henriques to Angop.

On 18 February 2012, the rail line was interrupted for at least two days when a truck crashed into a passenger train at a level crossing in the locality "Cabebeia", in município de Kambambe (provínce Kwanza Norte).