Dakar–Saint-Louis Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() The line shown on a 1901 map | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Native name | Chemin de fer Dakar-Saint-Louis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stations | Dakar, Thiès, Louga, Saint-Louis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Heavy rail, disused | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 5 June 1885 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | 2003? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track length | 265 km (164.66 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of tracks | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The railroad linking Dakar (Senegal) to Saint-Louis (French: Chemin de fer Dakar-Saint-Louis) was the first railroad line in French West Africa when it opened in 1885. [1] It is no longer in service. [2]
Like other railways constructed by the French colonial authorities in French West Africa, 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. [3] The line was referred to as the "peanut railroad", due to the peanut export sector and the growth of it around the route. [4] The main route was completed around 1915. [5]
Extensions to the line were built in the 1920s, finishing in 1933 with a 46 km single track line between Diourbel and Touba.This line a commercial success, unlike other lines in the network. [6]
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. [5]
Dakar is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2021.
Saint Louis or Saint-Louis, is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 kilometres (200 mi) north of Senegal's capital city Dakar, it has a population officially estimated at 258,592 in 2021. Saint-Louis was the capital of the French colony of Senegal from 1673 until 1902 and French West Africa from 1895 until 1902, when the capital was moved to Dakar. From 1920 to 1957, it also served as the capital of the neighboring colony of Mauritania.
Tambacounda is the largest city in eastern Senegal, 400 kilometres (250 mi) southeast of Dakar, and is the regional capital of the province of the same name. Its estimated population in 2007 was 78,800.
The Dakar–Niger Railway connects Dakar, Senegal to Koulikoro, Mali. The name refers to the Niger River, not the Republic of Niger. It serves many cities in Senegal, including Thiès, and in Mali, including Kayes, Kita, Kati, Bamako. The line covers a course of 1,287 km of which 641 km lies in Mali.
The Chemins de fer de l'État, often referred to in France as the Réseau de l'État, was an early state-owned French railway company.
Tivaouane or Tivawan is a city located in the Thiès Region of Senegal.
Établissements Billard was a French railway rolling stock construction company founded in 1920 and based in Tours. It specialised in light railbuses and metre gauge and narrow gauge rolling stock. The business ceased trading in 1956 and later became Socofer.
Trade unionism is a powerful force in the politics, economy, and culture of Senegal, and was one of the earliest trades union movements to form in Francophone West Africa.
Rail transport in Morocco was initially developed during the protectorate. It functioned primarily as a means to mobilize colonial troops and to transport natural resources. Later, a standard-gauge network was built.
Guinea has 1,086 km of railways. This includes 279 km at 1,435 mm gauge and 807 km at 1,000 mm gauge. The latter includes 662 km in common carrier service from Kankan to Conakry.
Senegal's rail network consists of 906 km of railway at 1,000 mm gauge, and 36 km of 1,445 mm gauge. The metre-gauge network is part of the Dakar–Niger Railway which crosses the border to Mali. The railway is operated by Transrail, managed by the Belgian company Vecturis.
The French conquest of Senegal started in 1659 with the establishment of Saint-Louis, Senegal, followed by the French capture of the island of Gorée from the Dutch in 1677, but would only become a full-scale campaign in the 19th century.
There is a significant community of Lebanese people in Senegal.
The Petit train de banlieue (PTB) was a passenger train providing regular commuter rail service between the Dakar railway station and Thiès via Thiaroye and Rufisque.
The railway from Strasbourg to Basel is a French and Swiss 141.3-kilometre long railway line. It is used for passenger and freight traffic. The railway was opened in 1840–1844. It was the first railway line to serve Switzerland.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Dakar, Senegal.
The Saint-Étienne to Andrézieux railway was the first public railway in France and continental Europe, granted by order of King Louis XVIII to Louis-Antoine Beaunier in 1823.
The French National Railways used to run a considerable number of 1,000 mmmetre gauge lines, a few of which still operate mostly in tourist areas, such as the St Gervais-Vallorcine (Alps) and the "Petit Train Jaune" in the Pyrenees. The original French scheme was that every sous-prefecture should be rail connected. Extensive 600 mm gauge lines were also built for the sugar-beet industry in the north often using ex-military equipment after the First World War. Decauville was a famous French manufacturer of industrial narrow-gauge railway equipment and equipped one of the most extensive regional 600 mm narrow-gauge railway, the Chemins de fer du Calvados. Corsica has a narrow-gauge network of two lines following the coast line, that are connected by one line crossing the island through highly mountainous terrain. The petit train d'Artouste, a tourist line in the Pyrenees, uses 500 mm gauge.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Saint-Louis, Senegal.
The Rufisque tramway was a 14 km (8.7 mi) long, hand-operated light railway with track gauges of 400 mm and 600 mm in Rufisque in Senegal.