Up to 2012 Chad had no rail system. Two lines are planned to Sudan and Cameroon from the capital with construction expected to start in February 2016 and be complete in 4 years.

History

Early railroad schemes – 19th century

A 1905 book describes the history of a German railroad syndicate's exploration of Chad:

In 1885, the new German colony of
Kamerun Kamerun was an African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon. Kamerun also included northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern ...
came into being. A number of influential Germans determined that the colony’s economic potential could be realized only through the construction of a railroad. They established a Cameroon railroad syndicate in 1900, which in 1902 obtained a concession from the German government to build a line that would open the colony’s interior to trade. The syndicate sponsored expeditions in 1902–3 and 1904 to survey the projected route.

20th century

Several plans or proposals to build railways during the French colonial period (

French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (french: link=no, Afrique-Équatoriale française), or the AEF, was the federation of French colonial possessions in Equatorial Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River into the Sahel, and comprising what are ...

) in Chad, and to connect Chad to other African railway networks (Cameroon, Nigeria, Oubangui/Central African Republic). Early proposals include a line extending from the Cameroon rail system at

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...

into Chad in the 1930s. One early unofficial plan was a study for a railway from Douala in Cameroon to Bangui, which was part of the pre-

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

German Imperial expansionist policy known as

Mittelafrika ''Mittelafrika'' (, "Middle Africa") is the name created for a geostrategic region in central and east Africa. Much like ''Mitteleuropa'', it articulated Germany's foreign policy aim, prior to the First World War, of bringing the region und ...

. In the 1950s, a line through Chad from

Port Sudan Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% ...

to Nigeria was proposed but opposed by Chad governmental organisations. In 1958, plans for a line from Cameroon the ''Société Civile d'Études du Chemin de Fer Douala-Tchad'' (SEDOT) was formed, and continued planning led to start of construction in 1964 - the line was constructed as far as

Ngaoundéré Ngaoundéré, or N'Gaoundéré (Fula: N'gamdere 𞤲'𞤺𞤢𞤥𞤣𞤫𞥅𞤪𞤫𞥅) is the capital of the Adamawa Region of Cameroon. It had a population of 152,700 at the 2005 census. According to the film ''Les Mairuuwas – Maitre de l' ...

in Cameroon (the Trans-Cameroon Railway, completed 1975.). Initial plans were for an extension to

Moundou Moundou () is the second largest city in Chad and is the capital of the region of Logone Occidental. The city lies on the Mbéré River (a tributary of the Western Logone) some 475 kilometres south of the capital N'Djamena. It is the main cit ...

in Chad, but this was not completed. In 1959, a multinational agency, the ''Agence Transéquatoriale des Communications'' (ATEC) was formed to manage cooperation between Chad, the Central African Republic, Gabon and Republic of Congo, and administer a system of river and railway links (named ''Route Fédérale'') serving the interior via a coastal termination at

Pointe Noire Pointe-Noire (; kg, Njinji, french: Ndjindji with the letter d following French spelling standards) is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department since 2004. Before ...

; a line from

Bangui Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...

(CAF) to Chad (''Bangui-Chad railroad'', or ''Le chemin de fer Bangui-Tchad''.) was under consideration as part of this scheme. The ''Bangui-Chad railroad'' project reached the preliminary planning stage, including costing studies – the project was terminated in 1962.

21st Century

In March 2011, Chad and China Civil Engineering Construction Corp (CCECC) reached agreement on a (estimated $7 billion) contract to build over 1300 km of standard gauge railway lines in Chad. The lines would be built primarily for freight but would also carry passengers. In August 2011, Sudan, Chad and the

Export-Import Bank of China The Export–Import Bank of China (Chexim - China Exim Bank) () is one of two institutional banks in China chartered to implement the state policies in industry, foreign trade, economy, and foreign aid to other developing countries, and pro ...

were reported to have reached an agreement to construct a cross border line from Chad's capital to the rail line at

Nyala, Sudan Nyala ( Daju: "the place of chatting") is the capital of the state of South Darfur in the south-west of Sudan. History Nyala was the capital of the Daju Empire, which was established around Jebel Um-Kurdós. However, many sites of ancient anti ...

. On 24 December 2011, the Ministry of Transport & Civil Aviation of Chad and CCECC signed the agreement (then valued at $5.6 billion) for the line's construction - with construction planned to start in February 2012. Two lines are planned: one from the capital

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the c ...

and Koutéré on the

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

border (528 km), and one from the capital to the border with Sudan (836 km) via

Abéché Abéché ( ar, أبشه, ''Absha'') is the fourth largest city in Chad and is the capital of Ouaddaï Region. It has within it the remnants of the ancient capital, including palaces, mosques, and the tombs of former sultans. History The city o ...

and

Adré Adré (Arabic: أدري) is the main town of the Assoungha department in the Ouaddaï Region of Chad. It is located very close to Chad's eastern border with Sudan, 400m away. The town is served by Adré Airport. History The Chadian-Sudanese ...

. The lines are to be built to standard gauge and for 120 km/h running, and equipment for the line will be sourced in China. There were no railways in Chad before 2012.

2011

Cameroon-Chad

2014

In 2012, construction was reported started on a new 161km, standard (1435mm) gauge from

, on the border with Sudan, to

. However, it would appear that little progress has been made, despite a further report that construction was under way in 2016. If eventually completed, this will be the first railway in Chad; it is proposed that it would connect with a new railway in Sudan from

on the Red Sea. A further 575km section in Chad would run from

to the capital,

N’Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are th ...

2015

Cameroon-Chad railway

Sudan-Chad railway

2021

Funding was approved in 2021 for a feasibility study into a 528km line from

to Koutéré on the border with Cameroon, where it would connect with a new railway from the railhead at

2023

* Since the rail line in Cameroon from the Port of

to the Chad border, recently upgraded, is metre gauge (1000mm) a

break of gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...

problem will occur when the standard gauge line in Chad meets a new line from

at the Chad border. A new standard gauge railway for iron ore traffic is under construction between

Kribi Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon. Location The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of ...

and Mbalam with a future connection to the existing metre gauge railway

Talgo Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains. Corporate history TALGO, an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol (English: ''Lightweight articulated tr ...

RD gauge changing trains may be able to overcome this break of gauge. Break of gauge
/ref>

Maps

UN Map - no railways yet

Stations

Proposed

Nyala The lowland nyala or simply nyala (''Tragelaphus angasii'') is a spiral-horned antelope native to southern Africa. It is a species of the family Bovidae and genus ''Tragelaphus'', previously placed in genus ''Nyala''. It was first described i ...

, Sudan *

Ndjamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the c ...

, Chad capital * Abahe-Adre, Chad *

, Cameroon

railhead In the UK, railheading refers to the practice of travelling further than necessary to reach a rail service, typically by car. The phenomenon is common among commuters seeking a more convenient journey. Reasons for railheading include, but are ...

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

, Cameroon capital *

, Cameroon.