---
title: "SYSTRA plays major role in first trial run of Senegal’s regional express train, an unprecedented project in West Africa"
url: "https://www.systra.com/en/news/systra-plays-major-role-in-first-trial-run-of-senegals-regional-express-train-an-unprecedented-project-in-west-africa/"
type: post
date_published: 2019-01-16
date_modified: 2020-07-10
schema:
  @type: Article
language: en-US
word_count: 348
reading_time: 2 min
canonical: "https://www.systra.com/en/news/systra-plays-major-role-in-first-trial-run-of-senegals-regional-express-train-an-unprecedented-project-in-west-africa/"
featured_image: "https://www.systra.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/9e606a15dabbc5a1f3793cf6789b2a.png"
---

# SYSTRA plays major role in first trial run of Senegal’s regional express train, an unprecedented project in West Africa

![SYSTRA plays major role in first trial run of Senegal’s regional express train, an unprecedented project in West Africa](https://www.systra.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/9e606a15dabbc5a1f3793cf6789b2a.png)

SYSTRA, an engineering and consulting group specialising in mobility, has
participated in the project since 2015 as project management assistant. This is
an exceptional project for many reasons: the size, the speed of execution, the
technical and socioeconomic challenges, and the innovative character.

Since 2015, SYSTRA has worked side by side with APIX, the national agency that
promotes investment and major works in Senegal, to create the country’s first
regional express train. Numerous technical challenges were involved in order to
meet the needs of the region.

This train is a great success and the result of a joint effort between SYSTRA
and Senegal, as Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal confirmed in
his address: “Without the outstanding support of SYSTRA, we may not have been
where we are today”.

![dakar4-copyright_jmcom](https://www.systra.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/dakar4-copyright_jmcom.jpg)

This new regional express train will enable the growing passenger demand, set to
increase to 150,000 per day, to be met. It will not only make it easier for the
Dakar region’s inhabitants to get to work but also for passengers arriving at
the International Blaise Diagne Airport. With a commercial speed of 160km/h, the
line will reduce the travel time between the airport and Dakar to less than one
hour. It will unblock the capital, which is greatly needed, by transporting six
times as many passengers as the old suburban train.

To ensure this capacity, and the necessary reliability, Senegal has chosen 21st
century technologies, constituting a first for Senegal and even for West Africa:

- 25,000 Volt electrification
- International UIC standard track gauge (1,435 mm)
- ERTMS radio-based and fibre optic signalling to facilitate interoperability
- Electric and diesel dual-mode trains for greater flexibility

![copyright_jmcom](https://www.systra.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/copyright_jmcom.jpg)

The new infrastructure will also increase safety for the entire population, with
the removal of numerous level crossings, replaced by 18 bridges and 33
pedestrian bridges.

**The project in a few figures:**

- More than 8,000 people mobilised,
- 137km of track,
- 14 stations,
- 22 dual-mode trains,
- 51 large infrastructures,
- A 25MW substation

Copyright: JmCom