Started in 1904 initially as the Abidjan - Niger railway, it reached Ferké in 1929. Built by the French colonial administration to connect the mineral-rich landlocked parts of their colony to the coast, which later split into the independent countries of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Côte d'Ivoire, it only reached Ouagadougou in 1954, shortly before independence.
An extension to Kaya was completed in 1985, to eventually reach the manganese deposits in Tambao in the extreme north of Burkina Faso, but never reached Niger.
Kong refused the original route for the railway line, so it became marginalized. Instead the line went more quickly straight through Ferké, which continues to boom. Roads became a heavy competition for the declining freight rail service; passenger travel was finally suspended by the Corona-Virus year 2021.