This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(October 2020)
There is currently one railway in Niger, built between 2014 and 2016 between Niamey and Dosso by the French Bolloré conglomerate. The objective was to connect Niamey to the rail network in Benin and thus to the coast. But competing commercial interests by several parties resulted in endless litigation and the connection to Benin never materialized. So the 145 km Niamey-Dosso stretch now lies orphaned and unused, with the tracks ending in the middle of nowhere some 6 km south of Dosso. After several years of neglect the tracks are already damaged to such an extent in some places, that they have become unusable.[1][2][3][4] At the Niamey Terminus Station, the rails are kinked to such an extent by the summer heat that the train would not be able to leave the station (see image).
A rail connection from Maradi into Nigeria is being considered.