The Transgabonais railway, managed in Gabon by Setrag, a subsidiary of the Eramet Group, comprises a single 648-km track that extends across the equatorial forest, passing through many areas of unstable terrain, with crossings only possible at stations. The company is employing digital technology to improve its operations, focusing on 3 key areas:
- Improving rail traffic management.
- Optimizing the management of rolling stock.
- Infrastructure monitoring and maintenance.
Setrag has invested heavily in solutions for monitoring the status of locomotives, rail car tonnage, as well as real-time optimization of fuel consumption. It has implemented a traffic management modernization process coupled with continuous monitoring of conditions at its facilities, in particular by using drones to monitor infrastructure and sensors to anticipate the need for maintenance operations.
To help with the deployment of all these digital tools, Setrag has set up training programs for its teams at the Franceville railway development center and the simulation center for train driver training in Owendo.