Do you mean sub-Saharan Africa, or anywhere on the continent?
I've been around Morocco on their national railway system a few times, and it's been a quite pleasant and interesting experience, with decent trains, service, etc. Never forget the ride to Marrakesh where we shared a compartment with several soldiers heading south into the former Spanish Sahara, where they were stationed in the middle of the desert in a cinderblock base with no air conditioning and 120 degree weather every day... That's one of the great advantages of train travel: unlike on an airplane, one gets to mingle much more with locals and get different perspectives on life. Like the time we rode from Tallinn to Riga with a couple of car thieves... but that's another story.
I've yet to visit Africa. From what I've been told and my own research, it seems to be largely feast or famine where African passenger trains are concerned -- either super-luxurious runs like South Africa's 5-star Blue Train or aging, decrepit rolling stock that barely holding together, with little in between. m But that's the view from a great distance. Soeone who's actually done train travel in Africa may have a different perspective.
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I've been around Morocco on their national railway system a few times, and it's been a quite pleasant and interesting experience, with decent trains, service, etc. Never forget the ride to Marrakesh where we shared a compartment with several soldiers heading south into the former Spanish Sahara, where they were stationed in the middle of the desert in a cinderblock base with no air conditioning and 120 degree weather every day... That's one of the great advantages of train travel: unlike on an airplane, one gets to mingle much more with locals and get different perspectives on life. Like the time we rode from Tallinn to Riga with a couple of car thieves... but that's another story.