Senegal Secures €10 Million from EU and AFD to Study Dakar-Thiès TER Extension

A Signed Commitment, Not a Shovel in the Ground

On July 24, 2026, four parties gathered to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that will shape the future of Senegal's rail network: the Ministry of Land and Air Transport, state rail operator SEN-TER SA, the French Development Agency (AFD), and the European Union. Together, they committed €10 million to fund the project-preparation phase for extending the Dakar Regional Express Train (TER) from the capital toward Thiès, approximately 70 kilometres to the east.

The distinction matters: this funding does not build a single kilometre of track. It pays for the technical, economic, social, and environmental studies — known in French as études d'avant-projet — required to assess whether, how, and at what cost the extension can be built. Those findings will define the roadmap for any future construction financing.

Why Thiès?

Thiès is Senegal's second city and a long-established industrial and transport hub. It sits at the junction of the country's main rail corridors and houses one of West Africa's most storied rail maintenance centres. As Dakar's congestion intensifies and the government's Sénégal 2050 development agenda pushes for improved regional mobility, the case for a fast, reliable rail link between the two cities has gained urgency.

The current TER line, inaugurated in 2021, runs between Dakar's Petersen station and Diamniadio. Extending it to Thiès would connect the capital's suburban rail network to a broader regional system, potentially easing commuter pressure on the national highway and reducing transport costs for freight and passengers alike.

International Partners, Structured Process

The involvement of both the AFD and the EU signals that this expansion is being approached with the rigour that international co-financiers typically require. Preliminary studies funded at this stage will generate the technical dossiers and viability assessments needed before any construction loan or grant can be seriously negotiated. That sequencing — studies first, financing later — is standard practice for large infrastructure projects and reduces the risk of cost overruns or misaligned design choices later.

SEN-TER SA, the public company that operates and manages the TER, is a direct party to the MoU, placing the national operator at the centre of the planning process from the outset.

What Comes Next

The studies will take time. No construction timeline has been announced, and none should be expected until the pre-project reports are complete, reviewed, and accepted by all parties. The €10 million envelope funds that preparation work — not the infrastructure itself. Readers and investors should track the publication of study results as the next meaningful milestone.

For now, the signed MoU confirms that Senegal, with European backing, is moving the Dakar-Thiès TER extension from ambition to structured planning.