Dakar–Saint-Louis Railway — first rail in West Africa

1885 · Dakar

In 1885, a railway line was inaugurated between Dakar and Saint-Louis — 311 kilometres, one of the first railways in West Africa. This rail was at the heart of the conflict between the French and King Lat Dior, who refused to let it be built on his lands. The writer Ousmane Sembène told the story of the African railway workers of this line in his novel God's Bits of Wood.

Sources

• Persée — Roger Pasquier, « Villes du Sénégal au XIXe siècle » (Outre-Mers, 1960) — confirme 1885
• Écoles au Sénégal — construction du chemin de fer Dakar-Saint-Louis

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