Tunisia

Country Details

Name: Tunisia (Tunisie)
Language: Arabic and French
Currency: Tunisian Dinar (TND)

National railway system

Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Tunisiens (SNCFT)

UIC code

Numeric 91; alpha TN

Timetable

Journey Planner

• Main Lines
• Tunis Suburban
• Sousse Suburban

Downloadable Timetable

• Main Lines
• Tunis Suburban
• Sousse (Sahel) Suburban

Printed Timetable

No book for the whole network seems to be available, but printed leaflets for individual routes are available at many stations.

Summary timetables are available in some editions of the European Rail Timetable.

Ticketing

A 7 day all line “Carte Bleue” may be purchased for 40 Dinars at Tunis Ville. You are still meant to buy an “admission” for mainline trains.

Engineering Information

None.

Other Sources

Extensive information is available at the Man in Seat 61.

Maps

Printed Maps

World Rail Atlas - North, East and Central Africa by Neil Robinson.

Web-based Maps

• A list of lines and rudimentary map are available on the SNCFT web page. This page contains a useful list of lines and their lengths. However, this map predates the construction of the Sousse avoiding line, and the consequent closure of the (former) main line route south from Sousse to Sousse Bab Jedid. Therefore mileages south of Sousse will be correct station-to-station but not cumulatively from Tunis.

• A system map and a plan of the Tunis area are available in Tunisia - Maps and Plans.

Infrastructure

Gauge

Standard and Metre.

Electrification

• 25 kV 50Hz SNCFT: Sousse – Mahdia and Tunis Ville – Erriadh.
• 650V DC TGM: Tunis Marine – La Marsa.
• 750V DC Tunis Light Rail/Trams

Rule of the road

Left on SNCFT; right on TGM.

Other Railways

Tunis - Goulette - Marsa (TGM): Overhead electrified standard gauge suburban route from Tunis Marine to La Marsa Plage, owned and operated by the Société des transports de Tunis TRANSTU - site in French.

Tourist Lines

None, although private tourist services operated over the SNCFT metre gauge line from Metaloui to the scenic Selja gorge.("Le Lezard Rouge"). These are reported in a Tripadvisor posting as no longer running. Reported June 2024

Metro

None.

Trams

Tunis Light Rail operated by TRANSTU - site in French.

Recent and Future Changes

Passenger services between Tunisia and Algeria over the Ghardimaou - Sidi El-Hémissi border crossing (Tunis <> Annaba) resumed on 11 August 2024. Tunis dep 08.25 Monday, Wednesday and Friday; Annaba dep 09.00 Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. This train carries only international passengers between Tunisia and Algeria.

There has been considerable investment in the metre gauge lines to the south of Tunis. For example, a line avoiding Sousse was opened in 2004 which eliminates a level crossing and street running in Sousse city centre. A number of cut offs and deviations have also been built e.g. north of Bir Bouregba. The Sahel (= coast) suburban service from Sousse Bab Jedid to Mahdia has been reopened and improved. The overhead lines on the intensively worked metre gauge suburban route from Tunis Ville to Erriadh were energised on 10 August 2011.

The Tinja - Menzel Bourguiba line lost its passenger service some years ago.

There are long term plans to build a standard gauge route from Libya to Gabes in south eastern Tunisia.

The branch from Les Salines, on the Tunis - Kalaa Khasba line, to (Le) Kef was reopened in 2011 after a gap of 19 years, with one Autorail Express each way from/to Tunis Ville.

A tourist service (La Rose des Sables) ran for a period in 2015, covering the non-passenger Kalaâ Kasbah - Kasserine line, but did not survive.

Special Notes

Note that travel to some parts of Tunisia is not advised; see the UK Government Foreign travel advice website.

Freight services operate over the standard gauge route into Algeria via Ghardimaou but there are no cross-border passenger services as at February 2015; see Recent and Future Changes above.

Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services

See Tunisia - Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services.