APA-Bamako (Mali) Rail operations in Mali finally resumed at the end of last week after a five-year hiatus.
This comes as a relief to the many people living near the trains, who prefer this more economical and safer means of transport.
This is undoubtedly one of the greatest achievements of the junta in power since August 2020.
The train’s first journey left Kayes on Friday June 9 and arrived in Bamako on Sunday June 11.
The journey takes around 15 hours, with numerous stops.
The last time the train whistled in Mali was in May 2018.
This was due to the dilapidated state of the rails and wagons, and the disrepair in several stations.
Railroad construction in Mali dates back to 1924 during the colonial period.
At the time, trains ran as far as Senegal, the country’s neighbour to the west.
After 2018, the transitional authorities, who arrived in August 2020, promised all the time that the train would
resume operations, but this has never actually happened.
The last attempt was in March 2023, when the train left Bamako for Kayes, but did not return until June 11.
According to sources, it will have taken the state over 6 billion FCFA to renovate infrastructure and equipment.
The authorities hope to recoup this sum over the next two years, thanks to the train’s efficient operation.
Many passengers opt for this means of transport because of the difficulties of reaching Kayes via Bamako.
Plane tickets are prohibitively expensive, while the road is impassable in places and sometimes very risky because of marauding criminals.
Added to these woes is the fact that these different means of transport do not make it easy to travel
with large quantities of goods.
The Bamako-Kayes route is part of the busy Dakar-Bamako corridor, since the port of the Senegalese capital is one of Mali’s most popular openings to the sea.
The resumption of train services means a revival of economic activity in the localities along the route, which have
been in a state of stagnation due to the interruption in rail operations.
However, some are hoping that the resumption of the train, which has long been plagued by unfulfilled promises, market management problems, anarchic occupation of railway land and the dilapidated state of the rails and buildings housing several stations, will be sustainable.
These constraints need to be resolved before they lead to a further interruptions of rail operations in Mali.
MD/ac/fss/as/APA