Here is a map of rails in Africa. Most of the tiny lines you see coming from the ocean were built by Europeans to extract raw materials from the continent. Many rails you see cutting across nations were built with help or investment of China to improve intra-African trade.
Transcontinental rails help Africa retain capital because it gives those countries more options to efficiently export to and import from brother nations, allowing for the growth of domestic industries.
Further, landlocked countries can have access to ports as well, spurring new mechanisms of growth.
It's not just rails that China is contributing to, but also transcontinental highways. The more African nations are connected to each other, the more unified the continent becomes, and the less dependent on capital export it will be. jamestown.org
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