Senegal

Country Details

See Wikipedia

Railway System

There are two distinct rail operations. Some information, relating mainly to the former Dakar - Bamako through train, is at the Man in Seat 61.

Chemin de Fer Dakar-Niger

This is the colonial-era railway, extending into Mali to reach the Niger River and Bamako, with some branches in Senegal. The line was taken over by a French-Canadian consortium, Transrail, in 2003, but ceased operating in 2009 or 2010. A new operator, Dakar-Bamako-Ferroviaire (DBF), appears to have restarted operations in 2016, but as of January 2023 appears to be providing passenger service only in Mali.

A suburban service was operated between Dakar and Thiès from 2016 onwards, as Petit Train de Banlieue (PTB). It is not known if this is still running as of January 2023, following the opening of the Train Express Régional service (see below).

Infrastructure

• Gauge: metre
• Electrification: none
• Rule of the road: not known; probably single-track throughout

Maps

See Wikipedia articles: Rail transport in Senegal and Dakar-Niger Railway.

Timetable

There is no known website for DBF.

An unofficial timetable of PTB services is available at Fahrplancenter, but this is dated May 2016 and is almost certainly out of date.

Train Express Régional de Dakar

This is a newly-constructed, electrified line, with passenger service introduced in December 2021. It runs alongside the metre-gauge line between Dakar and Diamniadio; a planned extension will diverge to the airport (Aéroport Internationale Blaise Digne).

The service is operated by SETER; train service information is provided at TER Dakar. Unofficial information is available at UrbanRail and Wikipedia (French language), including a map, frequency guide, and sample fares.

Infrastructure

• Gauge: standard
• Electrification: 25kV 50Hz AC
• Rule of the road: not known

Map

• interactive map and PDF

Timetable

• frequency guide. To access PDF timetables, select a commune in the "Les horaires par ligne" box, and click on the Rechercher button. Selecting a line (ligne) will display PDFs for only one direction.

Other Railways

None known

Tourist Lines

None known

Metro and light rail systems

None

Obscure and Sparse Passenger Services

See Senegal - Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services.

Normal passenger services on the metre-gauge Dakar Bamako Ferroviaire's line (map) are limited to commuter operations by Petit Train de Banlieue/PTB.SA, Dakar ⇔ Rufisque (30km), with a weekday round trip extending to Thiès (70km). The thrice-weekly extension to Tivaouane appears to have ceased. Light rail ⇔ Dakar international airport operated by SN/TER shares the route as far as Diaminadio. Details from moovit [the information at the Fahrplancenter website is not up to date as the Dakar - Colobane section is out of use during construction of a new standard gauge line]. During two Muslim religious festivals, excursions - advertised locally - have, in recent years, been operated by PTB beyond their core route:

Guinguinéo - Diourbel - Thiès - Tivaouane SN1

During Gamou (Maouloud (Mawlid)) at Tivaoaune, excursions have operated over this section with trains to Tivaouane from Guinguinéo, plus trains from Dakar over the Thiès - Tivaouane section. Report updated: February 2021

Guinguinéo - Diourbel - Touba and Thiès - Diourbel - Touba SN2

During Grand Magal at Touba, excursions have operated over these sections with trains from Guinguinéo and from Dakar, to Touba. Reported: February 2018