Some railway enthusiasts like to travel with butlers and Champagne; others prefer to ride trains like the locals. For them, there is the Trans Lemurie Express, a low-cost leisure train in Madagascar.
The 170-kilometre ride takes just under nine hours – if nothing breaks down. First-class passengers are pampered with snacks and soft drinks.
But anyone thinking of exploring Madagascar by rail had better hurry – many of the train routes on the Indian Ocean island have already been closed down, and no one knows how long those that remain will survive.
In the capital Antananarivo, the doors leading to the platform of the historical train station are locked. There is one freight wagon still in use at the posh Cafe de la Gare – to house toilets.
But a railway adventure is still possible 120 kilometres away, starting in the city of Moramanga. Here, you can set out by train on the trail of the lemurs, the primates with saucer eyes and cute faces that are the animal stars of this African country.
It’s 10 am and the sun is beating down. A red diesel locomotive rolls out of a warehouse in Moramanga. The driver has inspected the machine and nods happily – for now. Dozens of islanders run over the train tracks, loading bags, boxes and baskets into the brown freight wagons.
The train has seven freight wagons and four passenger cars. The white and blue first-class carriage is emblazoned with the name of the train service: the Trans Lemurie Express.
The train sets off on its bumpy journey. Large families chatter away while children play. The first-class seats are comfortable.
Many of the train tracks in Madagascar came from Germany. French colonialists brought the equipment, stemming from German war reparations, to the island after World War I.
The train rumbles twice a week at bicycle speed along the 170 kilometres from Moramanga to the rice-producing northern city of Ambatondrazaka.
The “express” train makes stops in many villages featuring coconut trees, clucking chickens and small houses made out of wood, fabric or stone. Women and children throng the train, selling bananas, peanuts, mangoes and drinks.
At the on-board snack bar, lunch can be bought for 3,300 ariary (US$1.18): white bread, sardines in oil and a warm soft drink. The chilled drinks in the cooler sold out long before lunch.
Cleared stretches of land and tree stumps are the sad reality outside Moramanga, as in many places. But the landscape soon becomes greener, dotted with rice fields that stretch to the horizon, ponds, small rivers and hills.
The end of the line is reached after eight hours and 45 minutes.
“Other than rice, Ambatondrazaka also has a lot of fruit crops,” says Lea Arilala Razana, the head of tourism in the city.
In its markets, you can find almost all of the world’s exotic fruits, including lychees, passion fruit, guava and jackfruit.
Railway enthusiasts often spend only one night here – the train ride is their true objective. The timetable foresees a 7 am departure, but today the locomotive has a problem and ends up leaving only in the early afternoon.
There is an alternative, however: the taxi brousse.
The small bus leaves once it is full. Ducks quack away in a large basket attached to its roof. Halfway down the bumpy, sandy road, the vehicle encounters problems with its fan belt and cooling system. Nevertheless, it reaches Moramanga in the evening long before the train does. – dpa
