The FCE Railway, Madagascar : Journey by Train (Fianarantsoa

Fianarantsoa, wine capital and rice basket of the Betsileo highlands, is perched on eucalyptus wooded slopes at an altitude of 1,100 meters. Once the train leaves the Fianarantsoa station and the near suburbs, it passes through rice filled valleys for some 10 km before approaching the brilliant green slopes of the Sahambavy tea plantation. Two stations further on, the village of Ranomena (pk 38, altitude 1061) occupies the top edge of the escarpment. For the next 20 kms the line hugs the edge of the hillsides as it begins the steep descent.

At pk 42, we pass through the second, and longest (1072 m) tunnel of the journey. On the left begin a series of spectacular panoramas : a sea of thickly forested hillsides give way to bright patches of cultivated valleys some 200 meters below. Above, the giant rock facades of Andrambovato contrast with the often crystal blue sky.

Here we leave Betsileo country to enter the land of the Antanala people. A string of tunnels and a dozen reinforced concrete bridges (one of which crosses over the magnificent Mandriampotsy waterfall (pk 48) follow in succession. We're still passing through the forest, but it becomes thinner and more patchy with fields and fallow as we drop lower on the escarpment. On arrival at Tolongoina (pk 62, altitude 385 m), we have completed the steepest section of the line, having descended more than 600 meters over the last 20 kms.

Pour lire une description d'un point précis sur le profil ci-dessous, survolez la souris sur l'intersection du trait en couleur et la ligne du chemin de fer et vous verrez apparaître le texte correspondant.

Watch out for airplanes as you approach Manakara. We are told that this is one of only three rail lines in the world that actually crosses an
airport runway.

Several km of "new used" Swiss rails make for a relatively smooth rike between Ambila and Manakara. Where you don't feel the clickety-clack, you'll know that we've been working on welding the track.

From Sahasinaka to the coast, the rail line parallels a road so these villages are less isolated than those further west..

Villagers in the Mahabako/Fenomby/Sahasinaka more coastal zone produce various fruits throughout the year and depend on the train to transport them to market. These include litchis (December), mangoes (October), avocados (February-April), oranges and mandarines (June to August). Bananas produce fruit throughout the year, which is one reason they are so popular with farmers.

The tracks follow the Faraony River during much of this part of the trip, which makes for very picturesque views but also many problems of
washouts whe the river rises during heavy storms. Villagers in this area transport their coffee by barge to the nearest station.

Manampatrana is the heart of the coffee producing zone. The world price
for coffee is so variable (and recently so low) that farmers are becoming discouraged from investing in their coffee trees and many plantations
are no longer well maintained. The coffee harvest is from June to October.
During this season you are likely to see red and black coffee beans spread out to dry in the sun.

Tolongoina station collects bananas from all over the region for
transport to Fianar. The banana producer receives about 100 fmg per kg, half of which pays the porter who carries the bananas to the station. Bananas are transported green and then ripened at destination. The north/south road (RIP 4) to Ikongo passes through Tolongoina. Treks into the corridor can be arranged from here with Didier who also operates a tourist hostel.

The steepest grade (3.66%) of the journey is found on the stretch
between Madiorano and Tolongoina. As the train climbs to Fianar, traction can pose a problem, especially when the tracks are wet. Until the recent rehabilitation of the locomotives, when the system was mechanized, the FCE used a solution as effective as it was rustic. The locomotive carried a barrel of sand in the cabin. When the going was rough, one of the train operators stood out front scooping sand into a funnel and tubing that directed the sand onto the tracks, thereby assuring the necessary traction.

The splendid Mandriampotsy waterfall is just 3 km beyond Andrambovato, where there is also a small "refuge" run by Tsara Guest House. The truly intrepid can arrange a hike (4-5 days) from here north to Ranomafana National Park
and then continue by road to Fianar or Manakara. The vistas to the north are among the best of the journey if the weather is clear.

The longest tunnel (1072 m) is found on this stretch. You are entering
a major banana producing region. When the train line closed after the cyclones of 2000, 54 tons of bananas were left to rot at Andrambovato station. The poorest families eat all of their banana crop (cooked as a staple food before they are ripe), while slightly more prosperous families sell all or a portion of their crop and buy rice with the proceeds.

Ranomena is in the heart of the forest corridor. Villagers make a living from selling wood, as well as crayfish that are harvested from the forest.
The small red fruits on sale from about Feb to May are wild guavas (in purple flower all along the line in December), also collected from the forest, and much appreciated by humans and lemurs alike…

Madagascar's only tea plantation can be seen to the north of the train line as you pass through Sahambavy. To the south is Lake Sahambavy, an artificial lake built for irrigation purposes that has now become a weekend get-away for Fianar families.

The line continues to wend around tight curves for the next 20 kms until we reach Manampatrana (pk 79, altitude 206m), a commercial hub at the mid-point of the line. From this point on, the natural forest largely disappears, being replaced by ravinala (the traveler's palm) and cultivated tree crops that cover the hillsides along the Iohilahy river.

We cross the river at km 90 on a lovely arched bridge; often one sees canoes or local barges plying the river and bringing their goods to the nearby train station to be carried on to the end of the line. We following the gurgling river as it wends its way through the steep embankments, sometimes becoming turbulent and threatening its banks during the rainy season. Soon we will begin our last serious descent towards Sahasinaka (pk 116, altitude 23). For those who are ready to stop here, a lovely waterfall (4 kms from the station) is a nice hike from the Sahasinaka station.

The hillsides become more and more denuded and the countryside more monotonous as the train approaches the coast. We're now entering the land of the Antaimoro coastal peoples. Soon, we begin to catch glimpses of the ocean and a lighthouse appears on our right. Manakara ! Km 163.2 : endpoint of our journey on the FCE.