Bicycles are rarely seen, due to poor road conditions. It is, however, in a poor state of repair and is currently operating at about one-fifth of its capacity. Most of the railway system dates from Kitchener's offensive against the Mahdi in the 1890s, and is a narrow gauge, single track line. There are three classes of travel on the Sudanese railway. First-class compartments carry six passengers, while no limit seems to be fixed on the numbers in second and third classes, so these can be very crowded.
Some passengers even ride for free on the carriage roofs.
This practice is not recommended, however, as accidents have been known to occur. The national carrier is the government-owned Sudan Airways, Other airline companies operate on local routes.