There has been continuous provision of rail transport in Benin since 1906. Railway stations in Benin include:
Niger's transport system was little developed during the colonial period (1899–1960), mainly relying upon animal, human, and limited river transport in the far southwest and southeast. No railways were constructed in the colonial period, and roads outside the capital remained unpaved. The Niger River is unsuitable for large-scale river transport, as it lacks depth for most of the year and is broken by rapids in many areas. Camel caravan transport was historically important in the Sahara desert and Sahel regions, which cover most of northern Niger.
This article refers to transportation in the country of Togo.
Cotonou is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area.
Benin, a narrow, key-shaped, north–south strip of land in West Africa, lies between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer. Its latitude ranges from 6°30′ N to 12°30′ N and its longitude from 1° E to 3°40′ E. It is bounded by Togo to the west, Burkina Faso and Niger to the north, Nigeria to the east, and the Bight of Benin to the south.
Benin possesses railway and road infrastructure, as well as two seaports. Benin currently does not have rail connections to other countries, but new proposals seek to change this.
Parakou is the largest city in northern Benin, with an estimated population of around 206,667 people, and capital of the Borgou Department. Administratively the commune of Parakou makes up one of Benin's 77 communes. Since 2015, its mayor is Souradjou Adamou Karimou.
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.
The railway stations in Ghana serve a rail network concentrated in the south of the country.
The list of railway stations in Cameroon includes:
Railway stations in Mozambique include:
Railway stations in Angola include:
Railway stations in Nigeria include:
Benin has a total of 578 km (359 mi) of single track, 1,000 mm railway. Rail construction began around 1900, with regular services commencing in 1906; rail operation was taken into government control in 1930.
There are 622 kilometres of 1,000 mmmetre gauge railway in Burkina Faso, which run from Kaya to the border with Côte d'Ivoire and is part of the Abidjan-Ouagadougou railway. As of June 2014, 'Sitarail' operates a passenger train three times a week along the route from Ouagadougou to Abidjan. Journey time is 43 to 48 hours.
The West Africa Regional Rail Integration is a proposal to connect up isolated railway networks in West Africa.
Rail service in Namibia is provided by TransNamib. The Namibian rail network consists of 2,687 route-km of tracks (2017).
There is currently one railway in Niger, built between 2014 and 2016 between Niamey and Dosso by the French Bolloré conglomerate. The objective was to connect Niamey to the rail network in Benin and thus to the coast. But competing commercial interests by several parties resulted in endless litigation and the connection to Benin never materialized. So the 145 km Niamey-Dosso stretch now lies orphaned and unused, with the tracks ending in the middle of nowhere some 6 km south of Dosso. After several years of neglect the tracks are already damaged to such an extent in some places, that they have become unusable. At the Niamey Terminus Station, the rails are kinked to such an extent by the summer heat that the train would not be able to leave the station.
Niamey, colloquially also known as Niamey Hippodrome, is the main railway station of the city of Niamey, the capital of Niger. Located near the Niamey Racecourse, in Niamey IV borough, is the first station opened in Niger and is part of AfricaRail project.
Bénirail is the concessioned railway system of Benin. It is being rehabilitated by the Bolloré Group.
Media related to Train stations in Benin at Wikimedia Commons