Transport in Burkina Faso

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This article concerns the systems of transport in Burkina Faso, which primarily include road and rail infrastructure.

[edit] Railways

There are 622 kilometres of railway in Burkina Faso, of which 517 km run from Ouagadougou to Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; and 105 km from Ouagadougou to Kaya. All of the railways in the country are of the narrow 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+³⁄₈ in) metre gauge. Only one adjacent country is connected to Burkina Faso via rail, Côte d'Ivoire, a country in which the same one-metre gauge is employed.

A rail link connects Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso with the port of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire: the line from Ouagadougou to the Nigerien capital Niamey stops at Kaya. Google Earth images dated 15/2/07 show construction continuing for approx. 100 km northeast towards Dori. Instability in Côte D'Ivoire in 2003 forced a rerouting of rail freight from the Abidjan corridor to ports in Togo, Benin, and Ghana via the road network. A proposed rail link between Ouagadougou and Pô in Burkina Faso and Kumasi and Boankra in Ghana, has been discussed with Ghanaian officials, and feasibility studies are being undertaken to explore this possibility, which would provide rail access to the inland port of Bonakra.

Burkina Faso and Ghana use different rail gauges and this break-of-gauge can be overcome to a greater or lesser extent with a number of methods.

In 2006, an Indian proposal surfaced to link the railways in Benin and Togo with landlocked Niger and Burkino Faso. Additionally, a Czech proposal also surfaced to link Ghana railways with Burkina Faso. ^[1][2]. The manganese deposits near Dori are one source of traffic. Burkina Faso would also be a participant in the AfricaRail project.

[edit] Standard

Coupling (railway): Two buffers and screw chain. ^{[3] [4]}

Brake (railway): Air or Vacuum?

[edit] Railway links with adjacent countries

Côte d'Ivoire - yes - same gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+³⁄₈ in)

[edit] Stations served

[edit] Existing

The following towns of Burkina Faso are served by the country's railways:

• Banfora
• Bobo-Dioulasso
• Koudougou
• Ouagadougou - national capital
• Kaya - terminus

[edit] Highways

There is a total of 12,506 kilometres of highway in Burkina Faso, of which 2,001 kilometres are paved.

In 2000, the Government of Burkina Faso classified 15,000 kilometers of road as part of the national road network managed under the Ministry of Infrastructures Transport and Housing (MITH) through the Directorate of Roads (DGR). This network includes main inter-city roads and access roads for départments' capital cities. Only ten of the network's main roads are even partially paved, and the paved roads are plagued by dangerous potholes, missing signage, missing barriers and guardrails near roadside hazards, and no pavement markings to separate traffic moving in opposite directions.

[edit] Air

There are international airports at Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso and numerous smaller airfields. In 2004, the number of airports totaled 33, only 2 of which had paved runways as of 2005. Burkina Faso owns part of Air Afrique, which provides the country with international service. Air Burkina, which began in 1967, is government-run and has a monopoly on domestic service. It also flies to neighboring countries. In 2003, about 55,000 passengers were transported on domestic and international flights.

[edit] See also

• West Africa Regional Rail Integration

[edit] References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the CIA World Factbook.

[edit] External links

• UN Map of Burkina Faso

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