Dakar–Niger Railway

A train traveling along the railroad c. 1908

Construction work on the Dakar–Niger Railway began at the end of the 19th century under the French general Gallieni, commander of French Sudan.

A French colonial railroad inspector and three unidentified men in 1904

The railroad connected the Niger River with the port of Dakar, allowing the transport of raw materials across the globe. The line was completed at the beginning of the 20th century, the Kayes-Koulikoro section being inaugurated in 1904. However, the final section of the line did not open until 1924.[2]

In 1947, the railroad workers went on a several-month strike to obtain the same rights as the French railwaymen. They succeeded in winning a 20% raise, though strike leaders were jailed or fired. The strike was celebrated as a turning point in the anti-colonial struggle by Senegalese writer Ousmane Sembène in his 1960 novel, Les bouts de bois de Dieu.[2]

With the independence of Mali and Senegal, after the break-up of the Mali Federation, control of the railroad was divided between two national organisations, the Régie des Chemin de fer du Mali (RCFM) and the Régie des Chemins de Fer du Sénégal.[3] An agreement between Senegal and Mali in 1962 determined the common operation of the line by the two railway companies.[2]

In October 2003, Senegal and Mali privatised the railway following pressure from the World Bank. Transrail, a Franco-Canadian management consortium, took over management of the line, changing hands several times.[4] Management issues and a lack of investment led to serious degradation of the infrastructure and rolling stock and numerous delays. In Senegal, the maximum speed of the trains in many places has been limited to 20 km/h due to the bad state of the tracks.

Despite Transrail's obligation to maintain a passenger service, they concentrated on the transport of goods. Many stations have been closed and the numbers of connections reduced, creating difficulties for isolated communities. Passenger services have been suspended since an accident on 13 May 2009 killed five and injured thirty-seven. A Dakar-bound train came off the tracks between Bala and Goudiry in Tambacounda Region, Senegal. Four carriages reportedly overturned, but no official cause was determined.[5][4]

Transrail was bought in 2007 by the Belgian company Vecturis.[6] With continually degrading infrastructure and mounting security problems, passenger service was halted in May 2010.[7][2] In 2015, the governments of Mali and Senegal terminated the concession to Transrail, and a new entity, Dakar-Bamako Ferroviaire, took its place. They reached an agreement with China Railway Construction Corp (International) to restore their respective parts of the line.[8] Without measurable progress, however, freight service was suspended in 2018, leading to a 20% drop in activity at the Port of Dakar.[2]

Until 2015 the petit train de banlieue, a twice-daily service between Dakar and Thiès, ran on the Dakar-Niger rails, and the Train Express Regional from Dakar to Diamniadio opened in 2021 along part of the same route.[7]