The Abidjan urban train will be built in the place of an old railroad linking Abidjan to Ouagadougou. Some 3,000 families have had to move since August to make way for the new train route. In the town of Anyama, about 20% of them are still waiting for compensation.
Some houses have been destroyed by mistake. Abdramane Doumbia and his family have been now displaced. He has struggled to receive compensation.
"They asked us to make a complaint to the town hall," Abdramane Doumbia told DW. "They gave us nothing to prove that we had made the claim. When we finished making the claim, they promised to call us. but until today they did not call. It's really complicated. My family is scattered. My mother is on one side, my children on the other. And my brothers, some are homeless. And me, I don't know. It's a bit complicated.''
The new urban train is expected to advance mobility between Abidjan and Ouagadougou. It is scheduled to start running in 2024, carrying an estimated 540,000 passengers daily.