Sudan restarts Khartoum-Medani railway after four-year stoppage
July 20, 2026 (WAD MEDANI) – Sudanese authorities on Monday announced the resumption of the Khartoum-Medani railway line after a four-year hiatus.
Sudan’s railway sector suffers from severe structural deterioration, as armed conflicts, extensive track damage, years of neglect, and a lack of funding have left it out of service.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport said in a press release on Monday that a celebration was held in Wad Medani, the capital of Al-Gezira state, to mark the completion of maintenance work and the reopening of the Khartoum-Medani railway line, in an event organized by the Sudan Railways Corporation.
The Governor of Al-Gezira State, Al-Khair Ibrahim, said that the railway represents the country’s primary carrier and historically served as a gathering point for citizens and a source of inspiration for poets, emphasizing that Al-Jazirah state remains a cornerstone of the national economy and that all capabilities will be harnessed to support the railway’s revival.
For his part, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Saif Al-Nasr Haroun, stressed that restarting this line represents the first step in an integrated plan to restore the railway to its former glory, noting that the project will support the national economy and that railways can provide an alternative to heavy transport that damages national roads, while praising the efforts of workers who made great strides to reopen this vital line.
Meanwhile, the Director of the Sudan Railways Corporation, Mousa Al-Qawm Al-Jahdi, stated that the return of the maintenance train operating on the transport line between the Medani and Al-Gezira stations represents a significant step toward restoring railway services after a four-year stoppage, explaining that the rehabilitation work took 40 days and was carried out by the corporation’s workers under challenging conditions.
Sudan’s railways are among the oldest and largest transport networks in Africa, with the first lines established in 1897, contributing for decades to connecting regions and boosting economic and social activity despite challenges faced in recent years, including weak investment and the impacts of conflicts.
According to official data, Sudan has about 4,725 kilometres of single-track railway lines linking the capital, Khartoum, to major cities including Atbara, Medani, Sennar, El Obeid, Nyala, and Port Sudan.
The network was originally designed to transport heavy goods at low cost, particularly cotton, gum arabic, grains, and livestock, and to provide a passenger transport service that, for decades, remained one of the most widespread means of travel in the country.