Karte der geplanten französischen Transsahara-Eisenbahn

This map was published in Life magazine in November 1941. It shows a proposed French Trans-Saharan Railway that would have connected North Africa with French West Africa through the Sahara Desert. The project aimed to link Algiers and Dakar, creating a continuous transport route across the French colonial empire in Africa

If this line had been built and if it would not have been subsequently destroyed by the wars and rebellions that accompanied the independence of the states the line crossed, it would really be a nice asset.

Connecting the countries along the gulf of guinea with Europe would attract considerable freight in both directions, and for the distance of less than 3.000 miles from north to south, even passenger service could be a thing.

But if the colonial powers didn’t build it, probably no one is building it anytime soon.

There were some similar projects that ended up happening, like the Transamazonian Highway in Brazil to help connect the Pacific and Atlantic ports in South America.