In 1997, Wuhai was served by one major railway trunk line, the Baotou–Lanzhou Railway. There were 18 arterial highways in total, including National Highway 110 from Dengkou to Mahuanggou and National Highway 109 from Qipanjing to Shizuishan.
The annual passenger transport volume reached 1.9418 million person-times, with freight volume hitting 11.1647 million tons. Specifically, the railway carried 311,800 passengers and 2.4147 million tons of cargo; highways transported 1.63 million passengers and 8.75 million tons of goods.