Its cargo flow point is made through the port of Namibe.

Construction began on the railway in 1905, when Angola was a Portuguese colony.

The railway was opened to traffic in 1910, and continued to be extended inland until it reached its current terminus at Menongue (formerly Serpa Pinto) in December 1961.

When the fighting ended in 2002, the Angolan government sought to restore rail service.

The China Hyway Group rebuilt the Moçâmedes Railway between 2006 and 2015.