Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad
| Ethio-Djibouti Railways | |
|---|---|
Map of the Ethio-Djibouti Railway line
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| Overview | |
| Other name(s) | Franco-Ethiopian Railway |
| System | Heavy rail |
| Status | Abandoned |
| Termini |
Addis Ababa Djibouti |
| Operation | |
| Opened | First commercial service in 1901, completed in 1917 |
| Closed | 2009-2014 (officially 2016) |
| Events | |
| Replaced by | Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 784 km (487 mi) |
| Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge |
Ethio-Djibouti Railways (French: Chemin de Fer Djibouto-Éthiopien), also known as the Ethio-Djibouti Railway, was both a railway company and a railway based in the Horn of Africa. Parts of the railway still exist in 2017.
The Ethio-Djibouti Railway was one of the colonial era meter gauge railways in Africa that was built between 1894-1917. For most of the 20th century, it was a rather well-known railway outside Africa because of its rugged terrain and interesting landscape, steep slopes, narrow curves and its bridges over canyon-like deep wadis. It was operated with both steam locomotives and later diesel locomotives and its other mostly originated from the colonial era - and gave rise to some nostalgia and tourism.
Inside Africa, however, it served a clear economic purpose over decades easing the transport of goods between almost inaccessible Ethiopia and the ocean and clearly replaced camel caravans as the transport means of choice. Which camel caravan could arguably transport 700 tonnes of goods in one run at the speed of a quick horse? The trains also transported hundreds of travellers between the coast at Djibouti City and Ethiopia, daily. It was to some extent the connection of isolated and landlocked Ethiopia with the world around it.
The single track 781 km railway had a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge, most of it on Ethiopian territory, and about 100 km in Djibouti. There were 187 bridges along the route, but only one tunnel at Gol du Harr, northeast of Dire Dawa. The railway linked Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, with the Port of Djibouti. Along the railway, cities were founded like Dire Dawa, now one of most populous cities in Ethiopia.
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Wikipedia