section_path: Economy/Transportation
section_name: Transportation
paragraph_text: Transportation
  
  The DRC has 152,373 kilometres (94,680 mi) of roads, out of which only 3,047 kilometres (1,893 mi) are paved. It also has 4,007 kilometres (2,490 mi) of railways, with most being narrow-gauge. The infrastructure is in a state of disrepair, and the national highway system is very limited; reaching the capital by road is not possible from many parts of the country. Since the early 2000s there have been improvements to the road network, but the dense forests and numerous rivers in the DRC make construction and maintenance difficult. Air and river transportation have an important role, due to the terrain and the poor state of the road and rail networks. Air travel has seen an increase since the early 2000s, with 24 city pairs having airline service as of 2007, although it has a poor safety record. All air carriers certified by the DRC have been banned from European Union airports because of inadequate safety standards. Despite this, airlines are seen as the most reliable form of domestic travel. There are eight airlines in the country, including the flag carrier Congo Airways, and several international airlines service Kinshasa's international airport. Besides Kinshasa there are three other international airports in the DRC, which are at Lubumbashi, Kisangani, and Goma.
  
  The DRC has about 15,000 kilometres (9,300 mi) of navigable waterways, with the Congo River serving as the spine. Water transport has traditionally been the dominant means of moving around in the DRC and is also used to fill gaps between roads. Around two million tons of cargo pass through the port of Kinshasa on the Congo River every year, more than triple the volume moved by the national railroad company, Société nationale des chemins de fer du Congo (SNCC). River transports are owned by many private operators. The country's three economic hubs—Kinshasa in the west, Lubumbashi in the south, and Kinsangani in the northeast—are not connected by roads or rail. The rail system is concentrated in the southeast, and Kinshasa is connected by river ferry to Ilebo, where the rail line to Lubumbashi begins. This line is also critical for the movement of metal and minerals from the southern DRC to ports in Angola or South Africa (via Zambia) to be exported overseas. There is an electrified line between Kinshasa and the Atlantic seaport of Matadi. The track and rolling stock of the SNCC system is in poor condition, though the more recently built Matadi–Kinshasa line has better track.
  
  There are 44 national roads with a total of 58,358 kilometres (36,262 mi), but three of them are considered the most important. National Road No. 1 (RN1) is the main highway of the road system, connecting seaports in Kongo Central with Kinshasa and cities in the interior, such as Lubumbashi. RN1 reaches the border with Zambia in the south. National Road 2 (RN2) connects the central city of Mbuji-Mayi with Goma in the east, with most of it outside of the Kivu region being in a bad condition, and National Road 3 (RN3) connects Goma to Kisangani, from where a river boat can be taken to Kinshasa.