Railway stations in Niger

Railway map of Benin including the never built rail link to Niger

Niamey, terminus station

Niamey, airport station

Guesselbodi station

Kouré station

Kodo station

Koygorou station

Dosso station

End of the tracks, 6 km south of Dosso

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.[1][2][3][4] 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 (see image).

A rail connection from Maradi into Nigeria is being considered.

Maps

• UN Map

Built, but not operational

• Niamey terminus station (Niamey, capital of Niger). The station, officially inaugurated on 7 April 2014, is the first one opened in the country.[5][6][7]
• Niamey, airport station.
• Guesselbodi station.
• Kouré station.
• Kodo station.
• Birni N'Gaouré station.
• Koygorou station.
• Dosso station.

Built and operational

in Benin

• (1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge) [8][9]
• Cotonou (0 km) - port in Benin
• Parakou (438 km) - railhead in north

Proposed

From Parakou (Benin), to Dosso (Niger)

• Ndali
• Kandi
• Guéné
• Lama-Kara
• Malanville
• border (574 km) near Niger River bridge.
• Gaya

From Nigeria

• (1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge
• Kano - junction (0 km) (capital Kano State)
• Dutse
• Kazaure
• Daura
• Katsina (state capital Katsina State)
• Jibia
• border
• Maradi, Niger (capital Maradi Department (248 km)
• Niamey - national capital.
• .
• (existing narrow 1067mm gauge)
• Zaria - junction (0 km)
• Gusau - (capital Zamfara State)
• Kauran Namoda railhead[10]

From Côte d'Ivoire via Burkina Faso

• Abidjan
• (border)
• Burkina Faso
• (border)
• Niamey[11]

See also

• Railway stations in Benin
• Railway stations in Nigeria
• Railway stations in Burkina Faso
• Railway stations in Côte d'Ivoire
• AfricaRail
• West Africa Regional Rail Integration

References

1. "EXTENDING FROM BENIN TO NIGER". Railways Africa. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
2. See: Bollore's Niger-Benin rail project in jeopardy after rival wins court order, Reuters, 27 Nov. 2015.
3. See: Niger, Benin Seek Resolution of Rail Project Dispute Archived 2021-08-11 at the Wayback Machine, Railbus.com, 9 Oct. 2019.
4. Körling, Gabriella (2018-08-15). "Elusive Connections: The Precarious Materiality of a Railway Project in Niger". nomadit.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
5. (in French) "Inauguration of the first train station in Niamey" (Radio France Internationale)
6. "A 80 Year-long Wait: Niger Gets its First Train Station" (Global Voices Online)
7. "First railway in Niger" (RailwaysAfrica)
8. UN
9. "BENIN RAILWAY EXTENSION - Railways Africa". www.railwaysafrica.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-06.
10. [1] (informationng.com)
11. "Connecting Niger to Côte d'Ivoire" Archived 2014-03-23 at the Wayback Machine (railwaysofafrica.com)

External links

Media related to Train stations in Niger at Wikimedia Commons