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The Express Regional Train (TER) of Senegal has become a site for the debate about the promise of émergence and its limitations, both materially and discursively. By analysing the gap between the visions of emergence promoted by the leaders and the contrasting reality of the TER construction on the ground, the paper examines the effects of émergence on politics, in terms of decision-making and state-citizen relations. First, I argue that the politics of émergence are characterised by a centralisation of state intervention and a continuation of neo-liberal rationale and policies. The multitude of actors involved in the project leads to a lack of coordination that disadvantages the poorest who find themselves physically and metaphorically caught between mega-infrastructures that are supposed to anticipate a bright future. Second, I engage with the ensuing criticism on émergence, which take both nuanced and visible forms. Even if the disapproval directed towards the infrastructure is part of the dynamic constitution of statehood, the criticisms question more generally the notion of public good and inclusive growth as presented in the Plan Sénégal Emergent (PSE).