Sudan is an amazing country of beauty, wonder and friendliness, it was also a great place for train journeys. Sadly things con’t run so well now, but you can still explore the ghostly train stations of Sudan.
To read about Abu Hamad click here.
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The history of trains in Sudan
As a former British colony, or rather condominium the British built Sudan a railway, one of the few good takeaways from our colonial past. These trains and ghostly train stations of Sudan still exist, but have seen better days.
As our local guide Abdullah put it to us “The British lefts a train network on 1958 and now it no longer works. We need the British to come back”. Now before anyone gets funny about this, these were not my words, but those of a Sudanese, and not the first or last time we would hear similar.
The train network in Sudan
In its heyday the network would go all the from the Egyptian border right into Khartoum and what is now South Sudan, east to Port Sudan and even west to Darfur. Nowadays not so much, and what does move tends to be freight.
There are though still colonial era stations, some of them right in the middel of the desert that not only still function (to a degree), but are well worth a look.
Can you take the train in Sudan?
Essentially no you cannot, with the majority of trains being freight, although it is possible to jump on them like in Mauritania. We are currently working on a tour that will involve taking the train Sudan.
There are also talks about various loans and modernisation plans to either upgrade the system, or link the country to Eritrea, or even Ethiopia, but these plans have not yet gotten anywhere. There are also serious talks about linking the trains up to Juba, which would at least make our lives a little easier!
To read about Abyei click here.
The Ghost Train Stations of Sudan
The train stations of Sudan are therefore mixture of in use, or truly ghost stations. Khartoum looks amazing with its colonial feel, while Abu Hamad also has a real charm, getting arrested for taking photos not withstanding.
Ghost train stations of Sudan on the way t Bir Tawil
Not actually on the way to Bir Tawil, but more on the way to the Egyptian border. They literally have names like Station Number 5,6,7,8 – you get the picture. Train Station Number 6 is a popular place to camp on the way to Bir Tawil.
To read about how to get to Bir Tawil click here
The places are co cool to check out and are very much part of our tours to northern Sudan and Bir Tawil.
To read about Northern Sudan click here
Can U do a train tour in Sudan?
Not yet, but we are certainly working on it!
In the mean time check out our Bir Tawil incursion tour.