6 Countries That Are Without Railroads

These are all countries with large areas of low population density. Except for Libya, Oman and Iceland, these are among the poorest countries in the world. Low population density or poverty, or both, are the main reasons for non-existent railway system.

# Libya

There have been no operational railways in Libya since 1965, but various lines existed in the past. Plans for a new network have been under development for some time, and in 2008 and 2009 various contracts were placed and construction work started on a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge railway parallel to the coast from the Tunisian border at Ras Ajdir to Tripoli, and on to Misrata, Sirte, Benghazi and Bayda. But, construction of a national rail system was suspended because of the 2011 Libyan civil war.

# Chad

Transport infrastructure within Chad is generally poor, especially in the north and east of the country. River transport is limited to the south-west corner. Up to 2012 Chad had no rail system. Two lines are planned to Sudan and Cameroon from the capital with construction expected to start in 2012 and be complete in 4 years.

# Niger

There are no railways in Niger, although Niger is a user of the Benin and Togo railway lines which carry goods from seaports to the Niger border. Rail lines to Niamey and other points in Niger were proposed during the colonial period, and continue to be discussed.

# Somalia

The only railway in Somalia, the Mogadishu-Villabruzzi Railway, was built by Italy in the 1910s. The Mogadiscio-Villabruzzi Railway was the railway of Italian Somaliland, and connected the capital of Somalia with the Shebelle river agricultural areas from 1914 to 1941. The railway was dismantled in the 1940s by the British, and never restored.

# Yemen

As a direct consequence of the country’s poverty, Yemen compares unfavorably with its Middle Eastern neighbors in terms of transportation infrastructure and communications network. Roads are generally poor, although several projects are planned to upgrade the system. There are no railways in Yemen, though there have been a number of plans and proposals. More recently, in 2005, the Yemeni government began to investigate the possibility of constructing rail connections as part of a larger upgrade to transportation infrastructure.

# Papua New Guinea

Transport in Papua New Guinea is in many cases heavily limited by the mountainous terrain. The capital, Port Moresby, is not linked by road to any of the other major towns and many highland villages can only be reached by light aircraft or on foot. Papua New Guinea has no major railways, but some mine sites have disused tracks. During the period of German colonial control at the start of the 20th century numerous plantation railways had been constructed in German New Guinea. These were built near the settlements of Madang and Rabaul. After the fall of German New Guinea to the Australians in the First World War the railways ran into disrepair.