African Rail Company

What African Rail Company does

African Rail Company (ARC), legally African Rail International FZE, is a privately held rail freight logistics operator founded in 2013 and headquartered in the Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone, UAE. The company provides commercial freight rail transportation services across Southern Africa, with operations offices in Maputo (Mozambique), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Harare (Zimbabwe). Its core business is fuel transportation by rail, where it holds the position of largest fuel transporter by rail in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Beyond liquids, ARC has invested in dedicated divisions for dry bulk commodities and container transport.

The company's underlying technology is a rail freight logistics platform built around real-time cargo tracking and intermodal coordination systems. Value-added capabilities include Real-Time Cargo Tracking, a unique Goods in Transit Insurance product 100% underwritten by Lloyd's of London, turnkey intermodal solutions linking rail corridors via road and sea, on-ground coordination of loading/clearing/documentation, and ring-fenced capacity guarantees. ARC operates its own asset base of rolling stock and locomotives, with plans for a significant asset expansion in 2024 and beyond.

The business model is enterprise B2B, with revenue generated through contract-based freight transportation services on a transaction-fee basis. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Customers are large enterprises across oil and gas (largest oil supermajors), logistics (top-tier global freight forwarders), shipping (largest shipping lines), and commodities (largest commodity producers and traders, plus regional distributors). The go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales, supported by long-standing relationships with government rail authorities in the countries of operation. The company is privately held, with no disclosed funding rounds, ownership structure, or financial figures.

Name

African Rail Company

Legal name

African Rail International FZE

Website

https://africanrailco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

African Rail Company (ARC) is a privately held, UAE-domiciled rail freight logistics operator active in Southern Africa, transporting fuel, dry bulk, and containers across Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, with the largest fuel-by-rail share in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rail Freight Logistics

NAICS

Line-Haul Railroads (482111), Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510)

SIC

Railroads, Line-Haul Operating (4011), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Unit Train & Dedicated Contract Rail Services (TLADACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rail Transportation of Crude & Refined Products (EUALADAI), Cross-Border Rail Freight Operators (International Corridors) (TLADACAL), Dry Bulk Rail Freight (Unit Trains) (TLADAKAB), Intermodal Rail Forwarding (Rail-Truck / Rail-Port Drayage) (TLACADAC)

Keywords

• Freight rail logistics
• Fuel transportation services
• Bulk commodity rail
• Intermodal freight solutions
• Cargo transit insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Umm Al Quwain

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Freight Rail Transportation Services: Commercial freight rail transportation services including fuel transportation, bulk commodities, and container transport on behalf of clients. Revenue generated through transportation contracts with ring-fenced capacity commitments.
2. Intermodal Logistics Solutions: Coordination of road and sea transport to complement rail network where transportation extends beyond rail coverage

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

African Rail Company provides commercial freight rail transportation services throughout Southern Africa, with its core business in fuel transportation where it is the largest fuel transporter by rail in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The company also transports dry bulk commodities and containers, and complements its rail services with real-time cargo tracking, Goods in Transit Insurance underwritten by Lloyd's of London, and turnkey intermodal solutions linking rail corridors via road and sea.

Product overview

African Rail Company (ARC) offers a unified rail logistics platform providing commercial freight rail transportation services throughout Southern Africa. The core offering centers on fuel transportation, where ARC holds the market-leading position as the largest fuel transporter by rail in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The service portfolio includes three primary transport categories—fuel (liquids), dry bulk commodities, and containers—supported by value-added services including real-time cargo tracking, Lloyd's of London-underwritten goods in transit insurance, intermodal turnkey solutions (road and sea linkages), on-ground logistics coordination, and ring-fenced capacity guarantees. The company operates its own asset base of rolling stock and locomotives with plans for significant expansion in 2024 and beyond.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fuel Transportation Services Commercial rail transportation of liquid fuels (principally petroleum products) across Southern Africa. ARC is the largest fuel transporter by rail in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe, serving oil supermajors and large fuel distributors with ring-fenced capacity.
• Dry Bulk Transportation Rail transportation of dry bulk commodities across Southern Africa, supported by significant investment in the bulk commodities division. Targets large commodity producers, traders, and regional distributors.
• Container Transportation Rail transportation of containerized cargo across Southern Africa, supported by dedicated container division investments. Serves shipping lines, freight forwarders, and shippers needing inland rail connectivity from ports.
• Intermodal Solutions Turnkey intermodal solutions that extend logistics beyond the rail network by arranging road and sea transport to link rail corridors. Provides customers a seamless A-to-Z experience for movements that span multiple modes.
• Goods in Transit Insurance Goods in Transit Insurance offered uniquely by ARC and 100% underwritten by Lloyd's of London, providing cargo in-transit risk coverage to customers across ARC's rail and intermodal shipments.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200 km per litre of fuel vs 60 km by truck - approximately 3x fuel efficiency
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lloyds of LondonsupportingOthersLloyds of London provides insurance coverage for the company's unique Goods in Transit Insurance product, which is 100% underwritten by Lloyds of London - a distinctive offering in the rail logistics industry.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Grindrod Limited: South African freight logistics group with rail, terminal, and sea-freight operations across Southern Africa. Most direct peer given overlapping rail freight, intermodal, and Southern African footprint serving similar commodity and shipping customers.
• Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM): Mozambique's state-owned rail operator on which ARC partly relies for corridor access. A direct rail freight peer operating in ARC's primary market, particularly on fuel and bulk corridors.
• National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ): Zimbabwean state-owned freight rail operator. Direct peer operating the same Zimbabwean corridors where ARC is the largest fuel rail transporter; both move bulk and fuel volumes on government-owned track.
• Imperial Logistics (now part of DP World): Africa-focused freight forwarding and contract logistics provider with rail, road, and intermodal capabilities across Southern Africa. Comparable as a multi-modal freight solutions provider competing for similar enterprise shippers.
• Transnet Freight Rail: South African state-owned freight rail operator running the dominant heavy-haul network in Southern Africa. Direct peer in line-haul freight rail across overlapping geographies and commodity flows (fuel, bulk, containers).

Broad incumbents

• Maersk: Global container shipping and integrated logistics company expanding inland rail/intermodal offerings across Africa. Broad incumbent and named ARC customer peer; competes for the same port-to-inland freight flows.
• DP World: Global ports and logistics operator with growing inland and rail-adjacent capabilities in Africa. Broad incumbent offering integrated freight solutions including intermodal, comparable to ARC's enterprise offering at a larger scale.

Others

• Petrogal / TotalEnergies Logistics (Africa fuel logistics counterparts): Large oil majors and their captive fuel logistics providers operating in Southern Africa. Adjacent ecosystem participant — both a potential ARC customer and a counterparty that could internalize rail fuel transport in the region.

Regional players

• Botswana Railways: State-owned rail operator in neighboring Botswana. Regional rail freight peer serving adjacent Southern African commodity flows with overlapping intermodal and bulk transport customers.

Emerging players

• Kuehne+Nagel: Top-tier global freight forwarder with strong African operations. Comparable as a freight-forwarding customer/competitor arranging multi-modal freight (including rail) for the same enterprise commodity and shipping customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/african-rail-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about African Rail Company