In Mali, dreams and sadness for the Sahel express Not a single train has travelled on the line connecting the capitals of Mali and Senegal since May 17, 2018, when the company collapsed. Knee-high weeds grow on the track at Bamako station in Mali. But even today, many of the railway's workers -- unpaid but still technically employed -- still show up at the station, a colonial-era jewel in ochre stone, complete with a clock and signs for the ticket office. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES