The Dakar-Niger Railway is the only railroad in Mali. It runs 729 kilometers from the port of Koulikoro through Bamako to the border with Senegal and on to Dakar. A joint company comprised of Mali and Senegal was formed in 1995 with the intention of eventually privatizing the Bamako-Dakar line, which has been described as in disrepair. A Canadian company was awarded a 25-year concession to run the rail line by the two nations in 2003. The company has promised to upgrade the infrastructure and equipment.

In 1999, an estimated 536,000 tons of freight and 778,000 passengers were transported by the Malian section of the railroad. The line is frequently closed during the rainy season, and the track is in poor condition. The line could be important because it connects landlocked Mali to the port of Dakar, which is increasingly important for Malian exports given that access to Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, has been blocked since late 2002 due to civil war there. A new rail line between Bamako, Kouroussa, and Kankan in Guinea was also planned for the early 2000s.

In 2013, Mali offered three-day passenger services between Bamako and Kayes via Kati and Diamou.