A new $1.3 billion commuter railway in Senegal meant to ease traffic gridlock and modernize a crumbling public transport system made its inaugural journey from the capital Dakar on Monday.
The Regional Express will connect Dakar with Diamniadio, an industrial city being built on a dusty plain about 40 kilometers (25) miles away.
The first new railway since independence from France in 1960 is a cornerstone of President Macky Sall’s Senegal Emergent plan, which includes a new airport, roads, sports arenas, and a sleek conference center.
The projects have burnished Senegal’s image as one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.
The air-conditioned trains are expected to reduce pollution in Dakar, where banged-up old buses and taxis hurl clouds of black smoke as they inch towards the capital each morning.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
