Rail transport in Mali

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.

The line is potentially significant because it links landlocked Mali to the port of Dakar, increasingly of interest for Malian exports in the face of the disruption of access to Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, as a result of civil conflict in that country beginning in late 2002.

In 2003, the two countries sold a 25-year concession to run the rail line to a Canadian company, which pledged to upgrade equipment and infrastructure.

As of 2013, passenger services in Mali were being offered three days per week between Bamako and Kayes via Kati and Diamou.

[2][3] The portion of track between Bamako and Koulikoro has been out of service since at least 2005, and satellite imagery shows numerous bridge and roadbed washouts that would need to be repaired before it would be navigable once again.