The Abidjan - Niger railway, started in 1904 arrived in Bouaké in 1914, 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.
After World War II, in 1920 work on this section here north of Bouaké resumed. Kong refused the original route for the railway line, so it became marginalized. Instead the line went more quickly straight through Ferké by 1929, which continues to boom. Roads became a heavy competition for the declining rail service, with passenger rides finally suspended by the Corona-Virus year 2021.