2.4 Burkina Faso Railway Assessment
SITARAIL (subsidiary of Bolloré Group) is the railway company
who operates the railway lines between Côte d'Ivoire to Burkina
Faso. The line construction began in Abidjan in 1904 then achieved
in Ouagadougou in 1954.
Bolloré Group declared 200,000 passengers and 900,000 MT of freight
are transported each year however the recent Covid 19 pandemic has
impacted the passenger traffic. The network is 1,260 km long,
connects Abidjan to Ouagadougou with 59 stations. In Burkina, the
network represents a total of 622 km:
- 517 km currently operated between Côte d'Ivoire (Niangoloko) to Ouagadougou.
- 105 km not operated between Ouagadougou to Kaya.
From Côte d’Ivoire, the transported products are hydrocarbons,
containers, fertilizers and cement then cotton and local products
constitute the main exportations to Abidjan. Since 2019, Bolloré
Group has launched a vast investment program for the modernization
of its maintenance workshops with the target to improve the quality
of rail traffic. In addition, the company invested more than two
billion FCFA in the acquisition of modern equipment for its
locomotive and wagon maintenance between 2019-2020.
Since March 2020, the passengers traffic remains interrupted between Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire due to the Covid 19 pandemic. However, the Government announced last November 17th, 2021 the re-opening of the land and rail borders on December 1st, 2021.
For more information on government contact details, please see the
following link: 4.1
Government Contact List.
Travel Time Matrix
Travel Time from Capital City to Major Towns (hours) |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Ouagadougou |
Bobo Dioulasso |
Abidjan |
|
Ouagadougou |
10 hours |
72 hours |
|
Bobo Dioulasso |
10 hours |
36 hours |
|
Abidjan |
72 hours |
36 hours |
Ouagadougou Railway station. Photo: WFP/NB
Bobo Dioulasso Railway station. Photo: WFP/NB
Railway Companies and Consortia
SITARAIL is a concession managed by Bolloré
Railways which also operates Camrail (Cameron) and Benirail
(Benin). All freight operations in Burkina Faso are managed by
Sitarail and passenger traffic is managed by the STIB (Société de
Transport Ivoiro-Burkinabé). However, since March 2020, the
passengers traffic has been interrupted and the six weekly trains
to Abidjan are not operating till further notice from the Ivory and
Burkinabe government.
In addition, three consortiums (China Railway, African Global
Development et Frontline Capital Advisors) have been selected to
build a new railway network 1 102 km long to connect Ouagadougou to
Téma port in Ghana with a project to be launched during the first
quarter in 2022 (estimated cost is 4.7 billion Euros with a
forecast of 2-3 million passengers and between 7-17 million tons
per year)
For more information on railway company contact details, please see the following link: 4.9 Railway Companies Contact List.
Capacity Table
Rail Operator Capacity |
|
---|---|
SITARAIL |
|
Lines Operates On |
Ouagadougou – Bobo Dioulasso - Abidjan |
Max Train Length and / or Pulling Capacity |
This depends on the type of locomotives:
|
Locomotives |
A total of 28 locomotives are all diesel but only 25 are currently operational |
Covered Freight Wagons Size (m) |
361 |
Flatbed Freight Wagons Size (m) |
361 |
Wagon type “tombereaux” |
94 |
Tanker Wagons |
196 |
Hopper – Clinker Wagons |
100 Photo: WFP/NB |
Key Route Information
Standard Route Information |
||
---|---|---|
Abidjan → Ouagadougou |
Abidjan → Bobo Dioulasso |
|
Track Gauge |
1 meter |
|
Ruling Gradient |
Minimum curve radius: 120 m, maximum gradient: 25% |
|
Total Track Distance |
1197 KM |
818 KM |
Type of Rail |
The maximum axle load is 17 MT per axle |
|
Type of Sleeper and Fastening |
The rails are supported by concrete sleepers (no timber nor steel sleepers) The passing loops are modified to accommodate trains of up to 90 wagons. |
|
Total Track Travel Time |
72 hours |
36 hours |
Maintenance Good marginal bad |
Marginal Speed limited between 30 to 50 km/h and depending on the leg maintenance. |
Marginal Speed limited between 30 to 50 km/h and depending on the leg maintenance. |
Companies / Consortiums Operating on Line |
SITARAIL |
|
Traffic Frequency |
3 trains per day |
2 trains per day |
Security |
Good |
Good |
Main Stations |
Bobo Dioulasso |
Ferkéssedougou (Côte d’Ivoire) |
Key Stations
Key Station Information |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Ouagadougou |
Bobo Dioulasso |
Abidjan |
|
Location |
Burkina Faso |
Burkina Faso |
Côte d'Ivoire |
Contact Information |
25 31 07 39 |
20 98 15 47 20 98 15 71 20 98 15 77 |
(+225) 27 20 20 80 00 |
Connections with Other Transport Means |
Road |
Road |
Road & Port |
Storage Capacity (m2 and m3) |
Existing warehouses are not utilized due to their bad conditions (old buildings which require refurbishment). |
- |
|
Handling Equipment |
Cranes, forklifts, tractors, container handlers |
||
Handling Capacity |
3 x transshipment platform in Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso & Ferkéssedougou. |
||
Other Comments |
Currently, customs activities are performed directly next to the train upon arrival with the customers then they can collect their freight immediately if cleared. |