Railways in
Ethiopia
Newly delivered locomotives for the standard gauge railway at the depot in Addis Ababa.
The first railway in Ethiopia was the 780km metre gauge line linking the capital, Addis Ababa, with the port of Djibouti in the country of the same name. The first section, from Djibouti (in what was then French Somaliland) to Dire Dawa in Ethiopia (then Abyssinia), opened in 1901, but further construction was delayed by bankruptcy of the original railway company, and the line to Addis Ababa was not completed until 1917.
On the independence of Djibouti responsibility for the line passed to a new company jointly owned by the governments of the two countries. However, in the late 20th / early 21st centuries the line was allowed to deteriorate and languish, service became intermittent and the line eventually closed.
In 2016, a new 760km standard (1435mm) gauge electrified railway opened from Addis Ababa to Djibouti, replacing the metre gauge railway. About 660km of this line lies within Ethiopia.
In 2023, a 392km branch of the Addis Ababa to Djibouti line opened from a junction at Awash to Hara Gebeya. A further 260km from Hara Gebaya to Mek’ele is under construction.
Addis Ababa has a modern tramway system, 32km in extent, opened in 2015.
© 2006-2023 Glyn Williams
Photo image supplied by Ethiopian Railways Corporation