Algeria
Mohameddhiamerazka / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
Algeria is the largest country in Africa and the tenth largest in the world, spanning 2,381,741 km² with about 46 million people. It borders Tunisia and Libya to the east, Niger, Mali and Mauritania to the south, and Morocco and Western Sahara to the west, with a long Mediterranean coast to the north. Almost everyone lives on that coastal strip and in the Tell Atlas behind it; south of the Saharan Atlas the country becomes desert, and the desert is more than four-fifths of it.
The railway reflects that geography exactly. The trunk routes run east and west along the populated north — Algiers to Oran, opened in 1871, and Algiers towards Skikda from 1886 — while a handful of long north–south lines strike inland towards the Sahara, notably Oued Tlelat to Béchar and El Guerrah to Touggourt. What is unusual is the direction of travel: Algeria has spent decades rebuilding and reopening old lines rather than closing them, and is still laying new ones. The largest of them opened on 1 February 2026 — 950 kilometres of new standard-gauge railway from Béchar to the iron-ore body at Gara Djebilet, laid in two years and carrying passengers as well as ore.
Rail journeys in Algeria
Algiers to Constantine
The night train east from Algiers through the Kabylie and the Iron Gates to Constantine, the city of bridges — three times a week, with couchettes.
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Algiers to Oran
Algeria's oldest main line, 420 km west from the capital to Oran — four trains a day, the fastest an Alstom Coradia that does it in under five hours.
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Béchar to Tindouf
A night train across the western Sahara, on a railway that did not exist in January 2026: Béchar to Tindouf in eleven hours and twenty minutes.
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Algiers to Touggourt
SNTF's night express from Algiers drops through the El Kantara gorge, the gate of the Sahara, to the palm oases of Biskra and Touggourt.
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Oran to Béchar
SNTF's nightly sleeper from Oran climbs the Tell, crosses the High Plateaus and drops through the Saharan Atlas to reach Béchar at breakfast.
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Algiers to Tizi Ouzou
Algeria's rebuilt railway into the Kabylie: Stadler electric trains up the Sebaou valley to Tizi Ouzou, on a line that reopened in 2017.
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Where does the Algerian railway go?
Mostly along the north. The long-distance lines are Algiers–Oran (1871) and Algiers–Skikda (1886), with regional routes serving Béjaïa, Annaba, Jijel and the Kabylie. Running south, Oued Tlelat–Béchar (1906, rebuilt 2010) and El Guerrah–Touggourt (1914) reach towards the Sahara, and a line to Laghouat opened in 2023.
Is the network shrinking or growing?
Growing, which makes Algeria unusual in Africa. Several lines have been rebuilt rather than abandoned — Es Senia–Béni Saf, first opened in 1885, was reconstructed between 1985 and 2015; Thénia–Tizi Ouzou of 1888 was rebuilt, electrified and extended to Oued Aïssi in 2017 — and entirely new construction reached Laghouat in 2023. High-plateau and commuter lines have been added around Algiers and Oran.
Is there a rail pass for Algeria?
No. Algeria is outside the Interrail and Eurail areas, so travel is on ordinary tickets bought from SNTF. Fares are low.
Can you cross the Sahara by train in Algeria?
As far as Tindouf, yes, and only since 2026. The Béchar to Tindouf night train runs over the new Saharan line, leaving Béchar at 19:00 from Sunday to Thursday and arriving at 06:20 — eleven hours and twenty minutes and about 810 kilometres, with stops at Abadla, Hammaguir, Tabelbala, Hassi Khebi and Oum El Assel. Béchar is reached overnight from Oran, so the trip from the coast takes two nights with a day in Béchar between them.
How long does the train take from Algiers to Oran?
Between about four hours forty and six and a quarter hours, for some 420 kilometres. The Algiers to Oran line has four trains a day each way from Agha station: two Alstom Coradias, the faster, and two loco-hauled trains confort that call at more of the towns along the Chelif valley.
Is there a train from Algiers to Constantine?
Yes, overnight. The Algiers to Constantine train is the night express to Annaba, with seats and couchettes: it leaves Agha at 18:43 on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and reaches Constantine at 02:28, returning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. There is no daytime through train.
Is there a train from Oran to Béchar?
Yes, every night. The Oran to Béchar night express, with seats and couchettes, leaves Oran at 22:30 and reaches Béchar at 08:10, crossing the High Plateaus and the Saharan Atlas on the way; the return leaves Béchar at 22:00.
Can you take the train to Biskra and Touggourt?
Yes, overnight. The Algiers to Touggourt night express, with seats and couchettes, leaves Agha at 18:13 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, passes the El Kantara gorge and Biskra in the night and reaches Touggourt at 05:00; the return leaves Touggourt at 17:30.
Can you take the train from Algiers to Tizi Ouzou?
Yes, by day. The Algiers to Tizi Ouzou line into the Kabylie reopened in 2017, electrified: Stadler electric trains run up the branch from Thénia up to eleven times a day, in about forty minutes to Tizi Ouzou, and three a day run through from Agha in about an hour and a half.
How reliable is published information about Algerian services?
Harder to come by than in Europe, and worth treating carefully. SNTF's own website could not be reached from outside the country while this page was written, so times and fares here come from the Algerian press quoting the company. Neighbouring operators in North Africa publish in awkward formats too — Tunisia's timetable, for instance, as an image file — so the station counter is often the last word.