The French army occupied Kairouan in 1881. Pioneers then built the narrow gauge railway from Sousse on the coast to the former capital Kairouan within 3½ months. It ran mainly on an old
Roman road. The open-sided carriages arrived before 1 January 1882 in Sousse. The first train transported wounded soldieres on 3 February 1882 from Kairouan to Sousse. The waggons were initially drawn by horses and later by steam locomotives. The railway was regauged from to gauge in 1896. == External links ==