Market Overview
Sierra Leone has no operational national rail network. The country's historic colonial-era railway was closed in 1974. Freetown, the capital, has studied Bus Rapid Transit and potential urban rail solutions to address the city's severe mobility challenges, compounded by the Freetown Peninsula's difficult topography. Sierra Leone's mineral resources — iron ore, rutile, diamonds, and bauxite — generate freight demand that rail could serve. Iron ore operations by companies such as Tonkolili Iron Ore have included dedicated mining railway components. The government has engaged in rail feasibility discussions with Chinese and other partners. Post-Ebola and COVID recovery has prioritised basic health and education investment, but infrastructure development — including rail — is increasingly on the agenda as the country stabilises and grows.