In Cameroon, last week a major train accident happened as reported by the BBC respectively here.

With a death toll of over 70 people, it is most likely the most serious train accident in the country and directly affects the major artery of the railway system between Yaounde and Douala. Due to strong rain falls, the roads have become difficult to use between these major cities, resulting in a high demand of the railway. What actually caused the accident is currently unclear, but the fact that they have overfilled the carriage and added additional ones could be the cause. The rail line is on major parts built on a dam, built in 1912 but rehabilitated in the early 2000s. It could be, that the overloading of the carriages has resulted in too high axle and meter loads on the dams given that these were affected by the rains as well.

Let’s hope that the death and injured toll does not rise further and that measures for the further improvement of the network can be implemented.