Useful country information

Libreville (Owendo) to Franceville by train

Trains link Libreville with Franceville several nights a week, either the faster Train Express Trans-Ogooue (formerly Ntsa Express) or the all-stations Train Omnibus l'Equateur.  The station at Libreville is Owendo, which is about 4 or 5 miles south of Libreville itself.  Although most trains run overnight, there are no sleeping berths, only seats.  This timetable comes from a report in February 2013, from a photo of the current timetable marked 'Basse saison' (low season).  It's possible there will be more trains in the peak season, whenever that is!  Feedback would be appreciated.

How much does it cost?

How to buy tickets...

You can buy tickets at the station, and at a SETRAG sales point in central Libreville, behind Pellison.  To arrange tickets in advance, try the following travel agency:

Infoline: (+241) 06 57 39 66
www.ngondetour.com

Train Express, 2nd class... Photo courtesy of Clive Leatherdale		Train Express, 1st class... Photo courtesy of Clive Leatherdale

Train Express, restaurant car... Photo courtesy of Clive Leatherdale		The express train at Owendo... Photo courtesy of Clive Leatherdale

Owendo station, some 4 miles from Libreville... Photo courtesy of Clive Leatherdale		Owendo station ticket office... Photo courtesy of Clive Leatherdale

Traveller's reports...

This page is compiled with help gratefully received from traveller Clive Leatherdale, who reports, "Previous guidebooks have suggested the train is decrepit and prone to breakdown and delay.  To my untrained eye, the train looked modern and reliable. On the day I visited the station it arrived on schedule to the minute.  Owendo station struck me by its cleanliness and efficiency, and Gabon seems proud of its railway.  One thing was odd, i couldn't see any VIP car on the Ntsa Express, only two 1st class cars"

More information...

If anyone has any more information. photos or travel reports that would be useful for this page, please e-mail me!

Sponsored links...

Find hotels in Gabon...

Other hotel sites worth trying...

• www.tripadvisor.com is the place to find independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.

• www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system (Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system).  It has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one price, then charge you another!).

Backpacker hostels...

• www.hostelbookers.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelbookers offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

Travel insurance & health card...

Get travel insurance, it's essential...

Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover cancellation and loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings.  An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just 2 or 3 trips a year (I have an annual policy myself).  Here are some suggested insurers.  Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.

In the UK, try Columbus Direct or use Confused.com to compare prices & policies from many different insurers.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 65 (no age limit), see www.JustTravelCover.com.

        If you're resident in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try Columbus Direct's other websites.

    If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try Travel Guard USA.

Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...

It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.  If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're not left stranded if your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself.  In addition, some credit cards are significantly better for overseas travel than others.  Martin Lewis's www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which UK credit cards have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when you use an ATM abroad.  Taking this advice can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your normal high-street bank credit card!

You can avoid ATM charges and expensive exchange rates with a Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or their multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card, see www.caxtonfx.com for info.

Get an international SIM card...

Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're not careful you can return home to find some huge bills waiting for you.  I've known people run up a £1,000 bill in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a simple trip to Europe.  However, if you buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company such as www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid.  It cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide, and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries.  It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills when you get home.  It also works for laptop or PDA data access.  A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't expire if it's not between trips, unlike some others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone number' for life.