In the early morning, a silver blue train smoothly departed from the center of Dakar, with the cityscape swiftly passing outside the window. Since its opening in 2021, the Dakar Regional Express TER has become the preferred daily commute for countless commuters and students. However, for residents living further away in Ties, they are still hoping that this train with a speed of 160 kilometers per hour can soon enter their homes. Now, this wish is gradually becoming a reality. Recently, with the signing of a memorandum of understanding, Senegal's Ministry of Land and Air Transport, operator SENTER SA, French Development Agency, and the European Union have officially joined forces to accelerate the extension of this steel dragon.

Millions of funds in place

The core of this cooperation is a special fund of up to 10 million euros, jointly provided by the French Development Agency and the European Union. This funding will be specifically used for the preliminary feasibility study of the Dakar TER extension to the Ties project. The research team will conduct in-depth investigations into the technical solutions, economic benefits, and social and environmental impacts of the new route, paving the way for its implementation. This is not only an injection of funds, but also a cross-border integration of technology and experience, marking the formal transition of the project from conception to substantive planning stage.

Weaving a dense transportation network

The current TER Phase I project has a total length of 36 kilometers, with 13 stations connecting Dakar and Diamniadiou; After the second phase of the plan is connected to Blaise Diagne International Airport, the total length of the route is about 55 kilometers. The line adopts a standard gauge of 1435mm and is equipped with 15 sets of 4-car Alstom Coradia Polyvalent dual-mode trains. After extending to Ties, TER's service scope will be upgraded from a single urban commuting and airport connection to a regional corridor connecting the capital and important economic hinterland, greatly shortening the time and space distance between Dakar and inland economic centers.

Empowering Long Term Development

As Senegal's first modern regional railway, TER's extension goes far beyond track laying and bridge construction. It is a key milestone in Senegal's 2050 National Transformation Agenda, aimed at building a more resilient integrated transportation system. By strengthening the connections between economic centers, this project will effectively reduce logistics and personnel mobility costs, and stimulate economic vitality in the areas along the route.keywords:Engineering infrastructure

In the future, with the further extension of this modern railway, a more closely connected Senegal is slowly unfolding along the West African coastline.Editor/Yang Meiling