1. Road Network

Before the coming of the colonial masters in Cameroon, there was no remarkable route network apart from footpaths that linked small village communities. The North of Cameroon which already had contact with Merchants from North Africa, has a better communication system with horses that ensured the transportation of goods and pilgrims.

After this period, the Germans arrived and annexed Cameroon. Their presence necessitated the putting in place of a good route network for the evacuation of resources. For their thirty years in place, several roads, bridges and railway lines were constructed. After the departure of the Germans in about 1945, there British and French took over and continued developing road networks in the south. Several extensions ended up in the sea port to ensure the evacuation of goods from the hinterland to the coast.

When Cameroon gained independence, her economy was mainly based on agriculture and this meant that the already existing roads needed to be maintained and new one created. Two categories of roads exist in Cameroon : Trunk A ( which link up the major cities) and Trunk B roads. From North to south, the trunk A network starts with a first line (Limbe-Nkambe) from Limbe through Kumba, Mamfe, Bamenda, Kumbo to Nkambe. From Bamenda to Nkambe it continues to Wum and back to Bamenda, forming what is referred to as the ring road. The second line Starts from Douala to kousseri, the thrid line called the central starts from Douala to yaounde. A forth line starts from Douala and ends in Ngaoundere after many bends in other towns.

Trunk B roads simply originate from small communities (could be villages ) and end up linking to Trunk A roads.

Road networks over the national territory cover over 34,000 km. The communication density is still however low, there are still equally several problems of raod networks. Some become too bad and inacessible during the rainy season.

Some are too dusty during the dry season because they are untarred. Roads maintainance still poses a serious problem in Cameroon.

Kumba to Ekondotiti road in Septemeber

There are today several bus agancies that ensure inter urban transport in Cameroon such as Gaurantee express | Amour Mezam Express | Le Kribien |Jeannot Express | etc.

Transport within urban areas is faciliated by Taxis and motor bikes. A taxi drop costs over 200 FCFA in Yaounde and Douala and about 150 FCFA in Bamenda, Bafoussam and other smaller towns in general. In towns like Douala and Yaounde, there are intra urban buses that carry people to various destintions at cheap rates of over 100 FCFA per destination.

2.Railway

The first railway line in Cameroon was constructed by the Germans. This line was inaugurated on April 1 1911. It extended from Bonaberi to Nkongsamba. A second line was anticipated to run from Douala to Yaounde, but ended only in Eseka town due to the outbreak of the First World War. During the period of German colonial rule, there was over 332 Km of railway in existence. the French took over and continued the Central line to Yaounde.

Today, there is a TransCameroon railway line which runs from Douala through Yaounde to Ngaoundere. Railroad networks totally extend over 1,000 km. The main actor in railway transport is the CAMRAIL which has several trains running existing lines at very cheap rates. These ensure liaison with many parts of the country especially the North which is virtually inacessible during some periods of the year.

3. Air Transport

Air transport started in Cameroon in the early 1930s with small aircrafts. Today Cameroon has over 16 major airports with two airports of high capacity, the Douala International Airport and the Yaounde Airport. Initially, a French Company known as UTA ensured transport between Cameroon and Europe until 1961 when Air Afrique took over. Cameroon withdrew from this company in 1971 and created the Cameroon Airlines Company (CAMAIR). Besides CAMAIR, there are several other international flight companies that transport passengers from Cameroon to other parts of the wolrd and vice versa.

CAMAIR experienced serious crises and closed down. This is not the end of Air transport in Cameroon though. ADC is the national company in charge of airports today and ensures activity at the airports with other air companies like Tumai air, Brussels air ways, etc. Flight reservations can be made through the many travel agancies that are found through out the country.

4. Pipeline

This system was created recently to ensure the transportation of crude oil from Chad in the North to the sea port down south. It extends for over 1,125 km.