Steam Train Veterans
Trains which used to be the mode of transport for colonial powers during the beginning of the last century are experiencing a revival in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
When Eritrea started to rebuild its infrastructure, shortly after it gained independence from Ethiopia in the early nineties, it realized very quickly the importance of a national rail line for the transport sector.
The self-determination of Eritreans went so far, they would not accept any financial aid or support from western countries to rebuild and maintain the so called “Treni Italiani D’Eritrea”.
The head of the railway rehabilitation project at that time (1996), Mr. Amanuel Ghebreselassie was quoted saying,
”One Italian company said they would do it for $100m (pounds 65m). An American company offered to undertake a feasibility study for $190,000 (pounds 125,000). The British Steel Corporation presented us with an estimate which would have come to pounds 5m just for the rails from Asmara to Massawa. So we decided to do it all ourselves.“
It took hundreds of young Eritreans, while on military service, several train veterans, recalled from their retirement, and other workers to rebuild one of Africa’s most nostalgic rail ways. By 2003, work on the rail line between the capital Asmara and Eritrea’s main port of Massawa was finalized.
The rail route goes from the highlands to the coastal lowlands of Eritrea passing through approximately 30 tunnels, 65 bridges and viaducts. The national rail line owes and operates solely antique trains, locomotives and railcars, which were build by the Italians during Eritrea’s colonial occupation in the early 1920s and 30s.
Despite the age or maybe just because of the age, the cultural as well as economical value of these trains appears to be priceless for Eritrea.
One remarkable phenomenon is that without major marketing or advertising campaigns abroad, many foreign train spotters have identified the trains as an exclusive attraction. Each year rail enthusiasts flock to Eritrea from different parts of the world to enjoy a rail package holiday in the Red Sea State.
This only adds another attraction to Eritrea’s vast potential as a tourism destination. South Africa for example has the luxury Rovos Rail line, which takes tourists starting from US$2600 on a four night one-way trip from Victoria Falls to Cape Town.
Despite the purpose of serving tourism, the trains can be a cost efficient way to transport cargo between Asmara and Massawa for overseas shipping. Eritrea is due to become a mineral exporting country with first gold explorations to begin in 2010 and international mining companies lining up to get into business with Eritrea.
A study to Michel Hopely the President and CEO of Sunrigde Gold, one of the mining companies in Eritrea acknowledged that the railway might be of use to transport mining products to the port of Massawa.
In this respect, the effort and sacrifice by the Eritreans to rebuild the railway on their own is starting to pay off and makes Eritrea to a front-runner in the region. The BBC announced today that neighbouring Ethiopia is planning to rebuild its railway line from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa in Djibouti, after having neglected the line in favour of road transport for years.
In contrast to Eritrea, Ethiopia will not be able to accomplish rebuilding its rail network without financial help from the European Union, due to the huge distance from the Ethiopian highlands to the lowlands of Djibouti. For Ethiopia, this is a long way to go and as the BBC puts it, “At the moment the new network is still a dream…”
An old recipe can still make a dish and accordingly, the Horn of Africa revives an old idea to gain economic momentum in the future.
