The railroad linking

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

(

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

) to Saint-Louis ( French: ''Chemin de fer Dakar-Saint-Louis'') was the first railroad line in

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

when it opened in 1885. The section between Dakar and Mekhe remains in use for freight traffic. Beyond Mekhe the line is no longer in service.

History

Like other railways constructed by the French colonial authorities in

, scholars have argued the line was inspired by American "pioneer" railways, to help authorities govern settlement and economic development, rather than to help existing populations move people or goods around. The line was referred to as the "peanut railroad", due to the peanut export sector and the growth of it around the route. The main route was completed around 1915. Extensions to the line were built in the 1920s, finishing in 1933 with a 46 km single track line between

Diourbel Diourbel (; Serer language, Serer: ''Jurbel'', Wolof language, Wolof: ''Njaaréem'') is a town and urban commune in Senegal lying east of Thiès. It is known for its mosque and local peanut, groundnut industry and is the capital of the Diourbe ...

and

Touba Touba (Hassaniya Arabic: , 'Felicity'; Wolof: Tuubaa) is a city in central Senegal, part of Diourbel Region and Mbacké district. With a population of 1,120,824 in 2023, it is the second most populated Senegalese city after Dakar. It is the h ...

. This line a commercial success, unlike other lines in the network. The line was amalgamated with other colonial railroads in French West Africa, and after 1948 was operated by the Dakar Niger Railway. The route was still operating by 1991 and privatised in 1995, but seems to be no longer operational by the time Transrail took over as concession operator in 2003.

History

References

Further reading