One of the goals of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is the development of an integrated railroad network.
Aims include the extension of railways in member countries, the interconnection of previously isolated railways and the standardisation of gauge, brakes, couplings, and other parameters.
The first line would connect the cities and ports of Lagos, Cotonou, Lomé and Accra and would allow the largest container ships to focus on a smaller number of large ports, while efficiently serving a larger hinterland. This line connects 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge systems, which would require four rail dual gauge, which can also provide standard gauge. [1]
| System | Gauge | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
 Benin Transport | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | |
 Ivory Coast Transport | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | |
 Burkina Faso Transport | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | |
 Gambia (nil) | ||
 Ghana Transport | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | conversion to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) starts 2019. |
 Guinea-Bissau (nil) | ||
 Liberia Transport | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in); 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | |
 Niger Transport | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | |
 Nigeria Transport | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in); 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | conversion to SG starts 2018. |
 Senegal Transport | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | |
 Mali Transport | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | |
 Sierra Leone Transport | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | |
 Togo Transport | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | (suspended) |
 Guinea Transport | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in); 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
Transport in Guinea is composed by a variety of systems that people in the country use to get around as well as to and from domestic and international destinations. The railway from Conakry to Kankan ceased operating in the mid-1980s. Most vehicles in Guinea are 20+ years old, and cabs are any four-door vehicle which the owner has designated as being for hire. Domestic air services are intermittent. Conakry International Airport is the largest airport in the country, with flights to other cities in Africa as well as to Europe.
There are a number of systems of transport in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa, which possess road, rail, air and water infrastructure, including a network of highways and several airports.
Transport in Uganda refers to the transportation structure in Uganda. The country has an extensive network of paved and unpaved roads.
The Eritrean Railway is the only railway system in Eritrea. It was constructed between 1887 and 1932 during the Italian Eritrea colony and connects the port of Massawa with Asmara. Originally it also connected to Bishia. The line was partly damaged by warfare in subsequent decades, but was rebuilt in the 1990s. Vintage equipment is still used on the line.
The Trans-Asian Railway(TAR) is a project to create an integrated freight railway network across Europe and Asia. The project is of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
A coupling is a mechanism used to connect rolling stock together in a train.
A transporter wagon, in railway terminology, is a wagon (UIC) or railroad car (US) designed to carry other railway equipment. Normally, it is used to transport equipment of a different rail gauge. In most cases, a transporter wagon is a narrower gauge wagon for transporting a wider gauge equipment, allowing freight in a wider gauge wagons to reach destinations on the narrower gauge network without the expense and time of transshipment into a narrower gauge wagons.
Rail transport in South Africa is an important element of the country's transport infrastructure. All major cities are connected by rail, and South Africa's railway system is the most highly developed in Africa. The South African rail industry is publicly owned.
The African Union of Railways is an organisation under the auspices of the new African Union dealing with railways. It is similar to the International Union of Railways (UIC).
Rail transport in Tanzania is conducted by two companies. It has historically used narrow gauge trackage, but planning and construction of new standard gauge lines is underway as of 2017.
Rail transport in Cameroon is primarily operated by Camrail, a subsidiary of Bolloré Africa Logistics.
Ghana Railway Corporation operates the railways of Ghana. The Ghana Railway Company Limited is a public-sector body with responsibility for the efficient management of the national rail system so as to enhance the smooth movement of goods and passengers.
AfricaRail is a project to link the railway systems of Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin and Togo. These are all 1,000 mm gauge.
Railways in Nigeria consist of a 3,505 km Cape gauge national railway network and 669 km of standard gauge. The Cape gauge network is in poor condition due to lack of maintenance. In 2019, the single operational standard gauge line from Abuja to Kaduna generated as much revenue as the entire Cape gauge railway network combined. The Nigerian government plans to extend the standard gauge to replace most of the Western Line, while the Eastern Line will be rehabilitated as a Cape gauge line. All trains in Nigeria are operated by the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
The railway stations in Ghana serve a rail network concentrated in the south of the country.
There are several planned railway lines in Rwanda, including a line to Tanzania. Historical railways are limited to three industrial railways.
Mali has one railroad, including 729 kilometers in Mali, which runs from the port of Koulikoro via Bamako to the border with Senegal and continues on to Dakar. The Bamako-Dakar line, which has been described as dilapidated, was owned by a joint company established by Mali and Senegal in 1995, with the eventual goal of privatization. In 2003 the two countries sold a 25-year concession to run the rail line to a Canadian company, which has pledged to upgrade equipment and infrastructure.
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.
Rail transport in Togo consists of 568 km (353 mi) (2014) of 1,000 mmmetre gauge railway.
South Sudan does not have an extensive rail system. Current rail infrastructure, which was constructed between 1959–1962, and was left over from the previous Sudan government is in a serious state of disrepair. It consists of a 248 kilometers (154 mi) narrow-gauge, single-track line that connects Babonosa (Sudan) with the city of Wau in South Sudan. The line was left in poor condition after the Second Sudanese Civil War after several parts of it were mined; the line was fully rehabilitated with United Nations funds.