[DR Congo] Videos of ex-JR Hokkaido trains in service Kinshasa–Matadi

jamesontheroad · 7 Jul 2026

Thought this might be of interest to anyone following the export of ex-JR Hokkaido stock.

A couple of YouTube videos have just been published by a Japanese railfan showing the former Japanese KiHa 183 DMUs now in passenger service in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the Kinshasa–Matadi railway, connecting the capital to the country's most important port. As far as I'm aware, these are the first decent videos showing them in regular operation.

If I understand various internet sources correctly, the trains were exported from Japan in 2023 after retirement from JR Hokkaido. They have since been refurbished and repainted for service on the ~~metre-~~ Cape-gauge Kinshasa–Matadi line, where they're being used to help modernise passenger services.

Full journey from Kinshasa to Matadi. This video includes views throughout the train, some cab views and some track views when sanding was needed on the steeper inclines.

Shorter cab ride video an early-evening Matete-Kinshasa express, entirely within the greater urban area.

RailUK Forums

Jamesrob637 · 7 Jul 2026

Quite fascinating, thank you: especially as we recently knocked out the DR Congo

AlterEgo · 7 Jul 2026

At one point the train appears like it might get derailed by a litter landslide under a bridge (!)

Gag Halfrunt · 7 Jul 2026

One seven-car unit was delivered to the DRC in 2024, but it was misreported in the Congolese media as seven trains. It was originally destined for a new passenger service in Sierra Leone, but that project collapsed and the unit went to the DRC instead.

Other KiHa183 units were exported to Myanmar (now out of service), Thailand and Cambodia.

The vlogger KRL MANIA lives in Jakarta and focuses on used Japanese EMUs on the KRL Commuterline network.

YorkshireBear · 7 Jul 2026

Fascinating video, its a different world!

yoyothehobo · 7 Jul 2026

Reminds me of that scene in the Simpsons:

gysev · 7 Jul 2026

Just a small correction: this line is Cape gauge.

jamesontheroad · 7 Jul 2026

gysev said:
Just a small correction: this line is Cape gauge.

Corrected!

londontransit · 15 Jul 2026

Many people seem to think this is a railway cab ride merely primed to shock people's senses - especially after American Youtuber Asmongold reviewed the ride from Matete to Kinshasa and also doubly criticised it (and the country) in very negative ways. That and the actual cab ride video have garnered well over three million views in just over a week - which is very unusual for a train cab ride .

Few even realise the DRC government have been trying to tackle the problems on its railway for quite a while and indeed just this past two weeks there have been huge evictions to remove the numerous unauthorised settlements that have encamped on railway property. I have done a post that explains all this (and what they are trying to do is to bring the railway up to a state where it can be immensely useful as a transport artery including a link to the airport and an asset for those with reduced mobility). It took a fair amount of research to do and there are links to some videos showing what happened after this cab ride video had been filmed.

Congo cab ride – the unseen story.

Gag Halfrunt · 15 Jul 2026

You write "The CFMK is the country’s one and only railway." This is incorrect. The other lines in the country might not be operational, but they do exist.

Rail transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

londontransit · 15 Jul 2026

Gag Halfrunt said:
You write "The CFMK is the country’s one and only railway." This is incorrect. The other lines in the country might not be operational, but they do exist.

Rail transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Its now 'operational' thus the post reflects the fact the CFMK is the one and only in use as there's no certainty any of the others are.

Baxenden Bank · 15 Jul 2026

londontransit said:
Its now 'operational' thus the post reflects the fact the CFMK is the one and only in use as there's no certainty any of the others are.

The others almost certainly are, however degraded. Not sure if the electrified section is still 'live'. Reports suggested 'new' (as in reconditioned and imported) locomotives but the few pictures available show a very saggy contact wire, but perhaps that was a parallel line rather than the main running line.

Like the Kinshasa to Matadi line, things come in and out of use without notice. The ones in the south-east are the ones carrying minerals to Angola and Zambia. Even the isolated Kisangani (Stanleyville) to Ubundu (Ponthierville) portage line had four new Chinese built locomotives transferred.

The airport line was last used in 2012 and Google aerial/satellite would suggest that the alignment has been severed as it approaches the airport. Re-instatement is promised though.

What I found 'interesting' was the rapid occupation of the vast railway lands in the Limete area. Containing various freight facilities, workshops and depot the land has been totally occupied over about a decade (subject to Google views which are not necessarily up-to-date).

There is another interesting video on Youtube (Suivi du Tracé Ferroviaire de Kinshasa par le CPVS) where politicians take an investigative trip along line. The diesel depot (4°20'53.7"S 15°20'32.8"E) is in use but totally surrounded.

londontransit · 15 Jul 2026

Baxenden Bank said:
The others almost certainly are, however degraded. Not sure if the electrified section is still 'live'. Reports suggested 'new' (as in reconditioned and imported) locomotives but the few pictures available show a very saggy contact wire, but perhaps that was a parallel line rather than the main running line.

Like the Kinshasa to Matadi line, things come in and out of use without notice. The ones in the south-east are the ones carrying minerals to Angola and Zambia. Even the isolated Kisangani (Stanleyville) to Ubundu (Ponthierville) portage line had four new Chinese built locomotives transferred.

The airport line was last used in 2012 and Google aerial/satellite would suggest that the alignment has been severed as it approaches the airport. Re-instatement is promised though.

What I found 'interesting' was the rapid occupation of the vast railway lands in the Limete area. Containing various freight facilities, workshops and depot the land has been totally occupied over about a decade (subject to Google views which are not necessarily up-to-date).

There is another interesting video on Youtube (Suivi du Tracé Ferroviaire de Kinshasa par le CPVS) where politicians take an investigative trip along line. The diesel depot (4°20'53.7"S 15°20'32.8"E) is in use but totally surrounded.

The line to N'Djili airport is certainly complete. I posted a video showing the rebuild of part of the line and also of the presidential visit to the airport by train. A couple of days after that occasion the airport line was severed by a new wall being placed across the tracks, so there's no certainty that any of us know what is going over there. I found a lot of things that have happened but I did not include these because I don't want to make the post too long. For example the first train to work the urban section to Matete (as part of a major launch for an increased frequency on that section) broke down and I don't even know if the service has run since. I have also found that trains in fact ran during some of the large scale operations to remove the many unauthorised properties along the line but which days and the times I do not know. My prime focus is the CFMK and even I find that difficult in terms of knowing what is going on.

"What I found 'interesting' was the rapid occupation of the vast railway lands in the Limete area. Containing various freight facilities, workshops and depot the land has been totally occupied over about a decade (subject to Google views which are not necessarily up-to-date)."

Which Google views? I have never seen any bar one showing Kinshasa Est station with an air of disuse and another showing Rue Des Poids-Lourds but little of the railway can be seen.

Gag Halfrunt · 16 Jul 2026

Baxenden Bank said:
There is another interesting video on Youtube (Suivi du Tracé Ferroviaire de Kinshasa par le CPVS) where politicians take an investigative trip along line. The diesel depot (4°20'53.7"S 15°20'32.8"E) is in use but totally surrounded.

This is the video.

londontransit · 16 Jul 2026

Gag Halfrunt said:
This is the video.

Its from October 2025 when the work first began on the N'Djili route. Have not seen it thus the views of the depot are great. The embankments on the line at Mapela were clearly in a poor state as shown on the video. That I posted on the N'Djili route was from 3 weeks back and the embankments had been made good by then leaving the track to finish off. There were complaints that substantial parts of the track had not even been remedied - hence the President and his officials on their special train 30th June 2026 had been placed in danger because of the risk of derailment.

Baxenden Bank · 16 Jul 2026

londontransit said:
The line to N'Djili airport is certainly complete. I posted a video showing the rebuild of part of the line and also of the presidential visit to the airport by train. A couple of days after that occasion the airport line was severed by a new wall being placed across the tracks, so there's no certainty that any of us know what is going over there. I found a lot of things that have happened but I did not include these because I don't want to make the post too long. For example the first train to work the urban section to Matete (as part of a major launch for an increased frequency on that section) broke down and I don't even know if the service has run since. I have also found that trains in fact ran during some of the large scale operations to remove the many unauthorised properties along the line but which days and the times I do not know. My prime focus is the CFMK and even I find that difficult in terms of knowing what is going on.

"What I found 'interesting' was the rapid occupation of the vast railway lands in the Limete area. Containing various freight facilities, workshops and depot the land has been totally occupied over about a decade (subject to Google views which are not necessarily up-to-date)."

Which Google views? I have never seen any bar one showing Kinshasa Est station with an air of disuse and another showing Rue Des Poids-Lourds but little of the railway can be seen

I only read your post fully after replying.

I am surprised the airport route was reopened so quickly. Things tend to be announced but then never actually happen. For example previous large fleets of buses, previous fleets of locos for the east and for Kinshasa - Matadi. But there is a difference between a Presidential opening and continuing regular daily service.

Even when things do arrive they can go out of use very quickly and that doesn't get reported. Many 'new' locomotives announced in the past were short term leases (e.g. three years) so may also leave the country after only a few years, again without publicity.

The big beast at the diesel depot in the video I quoted, now linked by @Gag Halfrunt, is I think one of the ex Sierra Leone locomotives leased from Grindrod (or whatever they are called this week).

The airport route was previously fully discernible on Google, in conjunction with Open Railway Map, but Google doesn't state the date of the capture. Different satellite imagery generally shows different things (Acme, Apple, Bing and others). Google currently shows a compound blocking the alignment at 4°23'53.1"S 15°26'09.2"E, through to the previous airport station at 4°23'33.3"S 15°26'31.3"E. The situation on the ground has clearly changed, as you have described.

The lozenge of railways land in the Limete area from 4°21'14.5"S 15°20'49.7"E north to 4°19'36.1"S 15°20'12.4"E was, when I first viewed it (around 10 years ago) completely clear of illegal structures, a shanty town gradually appeared with each refresh of the satellite imagery. There are various old maps online which I won't attach for copyright reasons but the 1969 map is titled 'plan de la ville de Kinshasa'. It can be seen on a map selling site here.

These are my notes:

Matete		multiple former sidings off approaching rail lozenge
(junction for airport)	trailing junction		4°21'25.0"S 15°20'53.7"E
(divergence)	facing junction	large lozenge of land, main line runs to east side, multiple lines / facilities within, refer to 1969 map	4°21'14.5"S 15°20'49.7"E
		wye off second line	4°21'03.0"S 15°20'36.5"E
		diesel loco depot off secondary line	4°20'53.0"S 15°20'32.6"E
		container terminal trailing off secondary line	4°20'16.4"S 15°20'17.5"E
		workshops trailing off secondary line	4°20'24.7"S 15°20'10.2"E
Limete Amicongo
(reconvergence)	trailing junction		4°19'36.1"S 15°20'12.4"E

Google Streetview is very limited but a comprehensive clicking on various 'map pins' and ordinary internet searches brings up lots of random 'factoids' and images.

londontransit · 16 Jul 2026

Baxenden Bank said:
I only read your post fully after replying.

I am surprised the airport route was reopened so quickly. Things tend to be announced but then never actually happen. For example previous large fleets of buses, previous fleets of locos for the east and for Kinshasa - Matadi. But there is a difference between a Presidential opening and continuing regular daily service.

Even when things do arrive they can go out of use very quickly and that doesn't get reported. Many 'new' locomotives announced in the past were short term leases (e.g. three years) so may also leave the country after only a few years, again without publicity.

The big beast at the diesel depot in the video I quoted, now linked by @Gag Halfrunt, is I think one of the ex Sierra Leone locomotives leased from Grindrod (or whatever they are called this week).

The airport route was previously fully discernible on Google, in conjunction with Open Railway Map, but Google doesn't state the date of the capture. Different satellite imagery generally shows different things (Acme, Apple, Bing and others). Google currently shows a compound blocking the alignment at 4°23'53.1"S 15°26'09.2"E, through to the previous airport station at 4°23'33.3"S 15°26'31.3"E. The situation on the ground has clearly changed, as you have described.

The lozenge of railways land in the Limete area from 4°21'14.5"S 15°20'49.7"E north to 4°19'36.1"S 15°20'12.4"E was, when I first viewed it (around 10 years ago) completely clear of illegal structures, a shanty town gradually appeared with each refresh of the satellite imagery. There are various old maps online which I won't attach for copyright reasons but the 1969 map is titled 'plan de la ville de Kinshasa'. It can be seen on a map selling site here.

These are my notes:

Matete multiple former sidings off approaching rail lozenge
(junction for airport) trailing junction 4°21'25.0"S 15°20'53.7"E
(divergence) facing junction large lozenge of land, main line runs to east side, multiple lines / facilities within, refer to 1969 map 4°21'14.5"S 15°20'49.7"E
wye off second line 4°21'03.0"S 15°20'36.5"E
diesel loco depot off secondary line 4°20'53.0"S 15°20'32.6"E
container terminal trailing off secondary line 4°20'16.4"S 15°20'17.5"E
workshops trailing off secondary line 4°20'24.7"S 15°20'10.2"E
Limete Amicongo
(reconvergence) trailing junction 4°19'36.1"S 15°20'12.4"E

Google Streetview is very limited but a comprehensive clicking on various 'map pins' and ordinary internet searches brings up lots of random 'factoids' and images.

Thanks this is great as it took a lot of work to even find out what was happening Kinshasa-Matete-N'DJili! I appreciate the information you have given in terms of the railway lands at Limete.

By the way this is the airport station with a Kiha 183 on a trial run just before the President's visit. The difference between this and the official visit is the station's rusty framework canopy was painted in the railway's colours (blue).

Baxenden Bank · 16 Jul 2026

londontransit said:
By the way this is the airport station with a Kiha 183 on a trial run just before the President's visit. The difference between this and the official visit is the station's rusty framework canopy was painted in the railway's colours (blue).

Excellent, that bloke dancing on his own at the start of the clip seems a little over-excited, but if you haven't had a train for 15 years why not!

Towards the end of the Kinshasa - Matadi video, as they arrive at Matadi station, there is a locomotive under wraps. I guess this is one of five (or ten, depends which source) being supplied by CRRC Ziyang, one of which (1501) was unveiled on 9 March 2026 (or around then).

The branch from N'Dolo via Kinshasa West (Leopoldville West) to Kinsuku Pompe was shown to 4°20'03.3"S 15°13'30.5"E on the 1969 map but it originally went further.
Taken with edits from a Kinshasa then and now blog:
This line was built as a replacement for the line whose alignment became Boulevard du 30 Juin (date of independence). This co-incided with replacement of the original Matadi - Kinshasa Railway and conversion from 750 to 1,067mm gauge.
Onatra was struggling with the urban rail service, having closed the Kintambo Magasins - Kinsuka line in early 2002.

londontransit · 16 Jul 2026

Baxenden Bank said:
Excellent, that bloke dancing on his own at the start of the clip seems a little over-excited, but if you haven't had a train for 15 years why not!

Towards the end of the Kinshasa - Matadi video, as they arrive at Matadi station, there is a locomotive under wraps. I guess this is one of five (or ten, depends which source) being supplied by CRRC Ziyang, one of which (1501) was unveiled on 9 March 2026 (or around then).

The branch from N'Dolo via Kinshasa West (Leopoldville West) to Kinsuku Pompe was shown to 4°20'03.3"S 15°13'30.5"E on the 1969 map but it originally went further.
Taken with edits from a Kinshasa then and now blog:
This line was built as a replacement for the line whose alignment became Boulevard du 30 Juin (date of independence). This co-incided with replacement of the original Matadi - Kinshasa Railway and conversion from 750 to 1,067mm gauge.
Onatra was struggling with the urban rail service, having closed the Kintambo Magasins - Kinsuka line in early 2002.

Thanks for that. Hence the present branch is on a newer alignment after the 1930s. Didn't know that.

I think any railway enthusiast, no matter where, would be celebrating with joy if they hadn't seen a train on their line for fifteen years!

Just watched this fascinating interview with Martin Lukusa - Onatra's director. It was filmed live on the platform at Kinshasa Est late last year. The Director discusses the railway and why the country needs to keep the railway, its modernisation, the encroachments and everything else, including the docks at Matadi as well the country's future in terms of transportation and how that compares with the surrounding countries.

Baxenden Bank · 16 Jul 2026

@londontransit
I've done some searching. The 1969 map of Kinshasa is free of copyright and licence so can be freely downloaded and shared. It is available here on the Stanford University Digital Repository. Downloadable at various sizes, I found the two largest failed but 8045 x 5512 worked for me. It may take a while to initially load on-screen then click on the box with the arrow above and download.
To simply view it is also available here at the UC Berkeley Library.

londontransit · 17 Jul 2026

Baxenden Bank said:
@londontransit
I've done some searching. The 1969 map of Kinshasa is free of copyright and licence so can be freely downloaded and shared. It is available here on the Stanford University Digital Repository. Downloadable at various sizes, I found the two largest failed but 8045 x 5512 worked for me. It may take a while to initially load on-screen then click on the box with the arrow above and download.
To simply view it is also available here at the UC Berkeley Library.

Thanks its a good one! While it doesn't show the depot at Limete (evidently that is after 1969) it does show the vast yards between there and Funa, plus what is now the airport route and also the line to Kintambo/Ngaliema Bay. It also shows what appear to be the old steam locomotive sheds too. Something I noticed (from Google aerial views) is there may have formerly been a link between the steam sheds and the newer diesel depot as they were not far from each other. Was there such a connection?

Gag Halfrunt · 17 Jul 2026

londontransit said:
Many people seem to think this is a railway cab ride merely primed to shock people's senses - especially after American Youtuber Asmongold reviewed the ride from Matete to Kinshasa and also doubly criticised it (and the country) in very negative ways.

The original Matete-Kinshasa video page is now full of racist comments in English.

Gag Halfrunt · 2026-08-29T01:03:59+0100

A service between N'djili Airport and Kinshasa-Est (which passengers call the Gare centrale) began on Wednesday 19th August.

After several months of interruption, urban rail service gradually resumed on Wednesday between N'djili Airport in the east and the Central Station in the north of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the complete satisfaction of passengers.

This rail service aims to alleviate traffic congestion, particularly on Boulevard Lumumba, which is frequently plagued by gridlock, and to facilitate travel for residents of the eastern part of the city to the center of the Congolese capital.

From Tshuenge Station in the Siforco district of Masina to the Central Station, the urban rail offers passengers a fast and comfortable alternative to the traffic difficulties in this densely populated part of Kinshasa. Since the resumption of service, two trains run daily: one in the morning starting at 6:30 a.m. and another in the late afternoon around 5:30 p.m.

The train is formed of a mixture of old and new carriages hauled by a locomotive. Perhaps the KiHa 183 is reserved for long distance services because hot food can be served on board.

Kinshasa. 20 million people. 15 years without a train.

August 19, 2026 — Kinshasa's urban train service resumes. We followed Jipsy — an ordinary Kinshasa resident who had never ridden a train in Kinshasa in his life — to experience this historic moment with him.

[DR Congo] Videos of ex-JR Hokkaido trains in service Kinshasa–Matadi

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