After a five-year hiatus, Mali’s passenger train service, which connects Bamako with the country’s west, has begun operating for commercial purposes again.
According to images shared by the ministry on Twitter, customers swarmed to purchase tickets as soon as they heard that the service had been restarted.
The inauguration journey of locomotive CC2207 for SOPAFER-Mali was observed by the Governor of Kayes, Colonel Moussa Soumare, and delighted locals, and many passengers.
A significant commercial centre is Kayes, which is not near the border with Senegal.
The train was scheduled to arrive in Bamako early on Saturday after travelling 400 km.
There have been delays in the line’s rehabilitation for more than 15 years.
Due to inadequate maintenance, service on the line finally came to an end in May 2018, which made the country’s transit issues worse.
According to the Economics and finance ministry, the $10 million in rehabilitation expenses would be recovered throughout the first two years of operation.
After many test runs on the Malian portion of the Dakar-Bamako line, service was resumed. The Bamako-Kayes line is a section of a track that connects Bamako with the capital city of Senegal, located 1,286 kilometres distant, and was finished in 1924 during French colonial authority.
