Bamako–Kayes Passenger Train

Société de patrimoine ferroviaire du Mali (SOPAFER)
Mali
Loading Map...
The Journey

Navigate from Bamako Central Station to Kayes Station across a span of 493km.

Scenery Highlights
  • Bamako departure — capital-city bustle, motorbike taxi scrum at the station gates
  • Kati cantonment — Mali's main military base, 25 km out of Bamako
  • Kita halt — gateway to the Bambouk / Bafing River escarpments and a former French hill-station
  • Bafoulabé (Mahina halt) — the historic confluence of the Bafing and Bakoye rivers that form the Senegal River
  • Médine fort — 19th-century French colonial outpost on the Senegal River, opposite Kayes
  • Dramatic transition from Sudan-Sahel woodland near Bamako to arid Sahel thorn-scrub approaching Kayes
Quick Facts
  • Duration

    15.83 hours

  • Distance

    493 km

  • Est. Price

    Affordable (first class ~7,500 XOF, second class ~4,500 XOF)

Official Booking Provider
Classes & Accommodations

Meals: None

Ensuite: No

Meals: None

Ensuite: No

Engine / Locomotive

Diesel locomotives — typically CC 6600 / Romanian-built LDH / Alsthom diesel-electric classes rotated from the SOPAFER fleet; exact loco varies by consist

Locomotive Weight

Approximately 70–110 tonnes depending on class (typical CC 6600 116 t)

Track Gauge

1,000 mm (Metre gauge) — Dakar–Niger Railway standard

Braking Technology

Vacuum brake (Westinghouse) on heritage passenger stock, supplemented by locomotive independent brake

Route Engineering Challenges

  • 493 km single-track metre-gauge mainline through the Sahel with very limited passing loops

  • Built 1882–1904 by French colonial engineers; original track and ballast dating from the early 20th century

  • Extremely slow running (average under 30 km/h, often under 25 km/h) due to track condition

  • Seasonal track damage from May–August rainy season (flooding of cuttings, washouts on laterite sections)

  • Harmattan dust storms December–February reduce visibility and foul filters

  • Heat-related rail expansion above 45 °C (May–June) — temporary speed restrictions

  • Senegal River bridge (Diamou area) maintenance constraints — single-track crossing of the flood-plain

  • Five-year full closure 2018–June 2023 — service finally resumed 9 June 2023 with refurbished rolling stock, partly second-hand Indian LHB-type carriages

Line length (Bamako–Kayes)

493 km (official fahrplancenter.com / Ministère des Transports du Mali timetable)

Journey time

15 h 50 min Bamako→Kayes (Train 2); 15 h 45 min Kayes→Bamako (Train 1)

Service resumption

9 June 2023 (resumed after a five-year suspension; previous cessation 2018)

Operating days

Train 2 Bamako→Kayes: Monday, Thursday, Saturday. Train 1 Kayes→Bamako: Tuesday, Friday, Sunday

Departure / arrival

Bamako 07:00 → Kayes 22:50; Kayes 06:30 → Bamako 22:15

Stations (Bamako–Kayes)

Bamako, Kati (25 km), Négala (61), Sébékoro (125), Badinko (154), Kita (185), Boulouli (224), Toukoto (257), Fangala, Badoumbé, Walia (327), Dioubéba (340), Kalé (360), Mahina / Bafoulabé (380), Galougo (413), Diamou (446), Médine (481), Kayes (493)

International extension (suspended)

Kayes–Ambidédi–Kidira (Senegal border, 587 km cumulative) — Dakar (1,230 km) — international service halted 2009, not yet resumed

Average speed

Under 30 km/h due to heritage track and frequent stops

Status

Operational — Mali's only active passenger rail service, three days a week in each direction

Operator

Société de patrimoine ferroviaire du Mali (SOPAFER), under the Ministère des Transports et des Infrastructures du Mali

Classes

1st class (première voiture, air-conditioned when generator working) and 2nd class (deuxième voiture, open windows)

Rolling stock

Refurbished passenger stock post-2023; partly second-hand Indian Railways carriages adapted for metre gauge

Quick Facts
  • Duration

    15.83 hours

  • Distance

    493 km

  • Est. Price

    Affordable (first class ~7,500 XOF, second class ~4,500 XOF)

Official Booking Provider