Transport in Niger
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[edit] Railways
0 km
[edit] Railway links with adjacent countries
Nigeria - no - 1067 mm gauge
Benin - no - 1000 mm
Mali - no - 1000 mm
Algeria - no - 1435 mm
Libya - no - 1435 mm planned
Were any railways in Niger to interconnect with railways of adjacent countries, choosing the best gauge will be tricky. 1067 mm matches the gauge of the regional powerhouse of Nigeria, although Nigeria has ambitious plans to convert to 1435mm. 1435 mm matches the gauge of North Africa and Europe. 1000 mm, while quite common, is fragmented and used by minor countries. Fortunately, it is possible to build plain track suitable for all three (see Dual gauge).
[edit] 2007
- Niger would be a participant in the AfricaRail project.
- With 1435mm gauge railways seemingly under construction in Libya to the north and Nigeria to the south, and an interconnection between the two that quite likely would pass through Nigeria, this would seem to indicate that Niger will acquire standard gauge railways. This would scuttle in part at least proposals to create a 1000mm gauge network joining Niger with Togo, Benin and beyond. Considering the amount of new construction needed to link such countries, and the construction of a number of heavy duty iron ore railways which would almost certainly be 1435mm gauge, momentum is created to adopt the 1435mm gauge throughout.
[edit] 2006
- An Indian proposal has surfaced to link the railways in Benin and Togo with landlocked Niger and Burkino Faso. This network skirts around Ghana which is the wrong narrow gauge of 1067mm.
- On 6 March 2006 a scheme to extend the Nigerian rail system to neighbouring Niger, conceived 10 years ago, was revived and is currently receiving consideration by the transport ministries of both governments. The route identified runs from the present Nigerian railhead at
Kaura-Namoda via Sokoto to Birnin-Konni (about 250km altogether) on the border with Niger, which has no railway. A feasibility study on has been carried out by consultants Team (Nig) Ltd of Nigeria; the only obstacle now is the lack of funds. It is hoped that donor agencies will assist. Nigeria is already using gauge convertible sleepers on the Onne line, and would presumably use them on the Niger Extension, so that initially 1067mm gauge would be used with easy conversion to 1435mm at a later date. Triple gauge sleepers that can also support 1000mm are also possible. [1]
[edit] 2005
- A map of link from Libya to Niger AfricaRail
- A map of a scheme to link Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin and Togo, which are conveniently all 1000mm gauge.
[edit] Highways
total: 10,100 km
paved: 798 km
unpaved: 9,302 km (1996 est.)
[edit] See also
[edit] Waterways
the Niger is navigable 300 km from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December to March
[edit] Airports
27 (1999 est.)
[edit] Airports - with paved runways
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)
[edit] Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m: 2 (1999 est.)
