After nearly 15 years without regular urban train service, Kinshasa residents once again have a rail option for getting across the capital. For people traveling between the city’s eastern districts and the center, the return of trains offers an alternative to roads where daily commutes can stretch for hours.
ONATRA resumed passenger service on August 19 between Tshenke in the Masina area and Central Station in Gombe. The roughly 25-kilometer journey takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes and includes around 10 stops. A 10-car train operates on the route, with fares ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 Congolese francs depending on the class.
For commuters, the significance is less about speed than having another option. Boulevard Lumumba, a major road linking eastern Kinshasa with the city center, is frequently congested, and some journeys from Tshangu to central Kinshasa can take several hours during peak periods. By late August, demand for the restored train had already risen sharply, with passengers calling for more departures as trains became crowded.
Reliability, however, remains a challenge. On September 2, the train derailed in Masina after sand and debris obstructed the track. No one was injured, and ONATRA carried out overnight repairs and cleaning before service resumed the following day. The incident highlighted the condition of the existing infrastructure as the city seeks to expand rail transport.
Kinshasa’s longer-term plan is more ambitious. MetroKin’s first phase is designed as a 22.282-kilometer double-track railway linking Central Station with N’Djili International Airport, with eight stations, electrification, modern signaling, a depot, workshop and control center. The project is designed to eventually carry more than 520,000 passengers a day.
Construction has not yet begun. MetroKin says its financial close and construction start are targeted for October 2026, with lenders’ due diligence and financing arrangements in their final stages. The broader plan envisages a metropolitan rail network of roughly 300 kilometers built in four phases.
For now, the restored ONATRA service is a modest step compared with that vision. But its value can already be measured in everyday terms: another way to reach work, markets and services without relying entirely on Kinshasa’s crowded roads. If MetroKin moves into construction as planned, the current service could become the first visible stage of a much larger transformation in how the capital moves.
