On 28 June 2025, the ECOWAS Commission facilitated a field visit to key road and rail infrastructure in Senegal for regional road engineers and transport experts from ECOWAS Member States. The visit was held as part of the final technical review workshop for the Praia-Dakar-Abidjan Corridor Technical Studies.
The delegation visited the Train Express Régional (TER) Dakar urban railway service and the Dakar-Diamniadio-Thies Highway. The objective was to support the development of uniform transport infrastructure in the region through shared experiences in infrastructure financing, operations, and maintenance, as implemented by the Senegalese Government.
The 36-kilometre TER Dakar urban railway service comprises 13 stations and operates 15 dual-mode 4-car trains. It has become a key mode of transport for peri-urban commuters travelling to and from Dakar. Experts boarded the train for firsthand experience and engaged in discussions on operations, signalisation, scheduling, maintenance, and policies aimed at promoting local skills and capacity in railway operations. Site visits included the railway operations room, maintenance centre, terminals, and related facilities. Further discussions addressed system design, revenue collection and management, and general urban rail service operations.
Participants also visited the Dakar-Diamniadio concession highway and the Diamniadio-Thies Highway, which serve as reference models for regional supra-national corridors, including the Dakar-Abidjan and Abidjan-Lagos corridors. Discussions during this leg of the visit focused on design elements, financing models, traffic surveillance, tolling, road safety, and local content in project delivery. The predominance of local expertise and the application of public-private financing arrangements were also highlighted.
These visits provided technical insights for ongoing and planned regional transport infrastructure projects and formed part of the validation process for the Praia-Dakar-Abidjan Corridor initiative.
