Friends of the Rail Forum

I always thought (probably like many others) that the first railway in Africa was in South Africa in 1859 (Wikipedia). However by chance I read today that Africa's first railway was started in 1852 in Alexandria, Egypt, by Abbas I, the Egyptian ruler. He was driven by a desire to bring Egypt into line with Europe and to stimulate trade (BBC). Presumably South Africa's railway was the first in sub-Saharan Africa.