Dakar Airport Express Train Project Update
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Loading... - Dickson Martey
- 23 Dec 2024
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The Dakar Airport Express train project is progressing with the delivery of the first trainset for Phase II of the Dakar Train Express Régional (TER). This phase will extend the existing 36 km line from Dakar to Diamniadio by an additional 19 km, reaching Blaise Diagne Airport.
The initial phase of the TER, which commenced operations in December 2021, is managed by Seter, a subsidiary of SNCF. It utilizes 15 four-car Alstom Coradia Polyvalent electro-diesel trainsets capable of speeds up to 160 km/h. The service frequency is impressive, with trains running every 10 minutes, and the system has successfully transported over 60 million passengers to date.
For the second phase, the public works agency APIX has ordered seven additional trainsets from CAF, which took over the Coradia Polyvalent platform and the Reichshoffen factory from Alstom in August 2022. The trains are currently being shipped from Antwerp to Dakar, where they will be transported to the Colobane depot. The first trainset arrived in Senegal on October 11, and all seven are expected to be delivered by March 2024, in preparation for the second phase's anticipated opening in 2025.
