The Rail Band or Rail Band is one of the most popular musical groups in the history of Malian music; the band was later known as Super Rail Band, Bamako Rail Band or, most comprehensively and formally, Super Rail Band of the Buffet Hotel de la Gare, Bamako. It was founded in 1970, sponsored by the Ministry of Information and the railway administration; the Malian government had, since the 1960s, been sponsoring cultural events and groups to promote national traditions, and the Rail Band was among those programs.