Restoring the Lion of Judah…

Sometimes I feel like David wrestling with Goliath when traveling by rail in some parts of the globe.  Perhaps it was divine intervention because many famous routes have been upgraded or restored, and new lines installed, as countless visitors rediscover the romance of the rails. Like me, these folks savor the fact that getting there is the fun.

If I had Aladdin's three wishes, or Queen Sheba’s treasure, I would restore Emperor Haile Sellasie's 'Lion of Judah' railway engine, hook it up to the prized set of French and British coaches, and operate luxury excursion tours on the Franco-Ethiopian Railway line. Built in the 1930s, the 482 mile route stretched from Addis Ababa to Djibouti.  

The railway connection between Djibouti port and Addis Ababa was built by the Imperial Railway Company of Ethiopia, founded in 1894, and was opened in 1917. France owned the Djibouti part of the line, but transferred this ownership to the Djiboutian government after independence in 1977. Later, ownership of the entire railway went to the Ethio-Djibouti Railways Company. Since the 1970s, the railway's quality has been deteriorating and its importance cut down as more and more of transported goods and passengers took the new improved roads. Djibouti's harbor also had to face the competition of the port of Massawa. With the independence of Eritrea in 1993, Ethiopia became landlocked, and because of deteriorating relations between the two countries, the Eritrean port of Massawa was no longer accessible to Ethiopia and the access to Djibouti's once again became strategic and vital for Ethiopia .

In 2003 the European Commission prepared a grant of 40 millions euros for the rehabilitation of the railway and raised it to 50 millions in 2006. In November 2006 an agreement was signed with the Italian consortium Costra, and work began in 2007 on sections of the line.

Ethiopia has also forged two deals with Turkish and Chinese companies.  Turkish company Yapi Merkezi will construct 447 kilometres (277 miles) while China Communications Construction Company will build 268 kilometres (166 miles) of the railway.

Railway construction is a central component of Ethiopia's five-year plan to boost economic growth, with has planned to construct 1,200 kilometers of railway between 2010 and 2015.

The Ethiopian people who work in the stations speak french, and it is a pleasure to talk with them. They just wait, wait, and wait for a rebirth of their legendary train...