page_title: Eritrean Railway
section_title: Characteristics
hierarchical_section_title: Eritrean Railway / Main Railway Line / Characteristics
caption_attribution_description: The Railway Station in Asmara, Eritrea. Sunday morning steam train excursions to Nefasit operate for rail enthusiasts when coal and passengers are available.
context_page_description: The Eritrean Railway is the only railway system in Eritrea. It was constructed between 1887 and 1932 during the Italian Eritrea colony and connects the port of Massawa with Asmara. Originally it also connected to Bishia. The line was partly damaged by warfare in subsequent decades, but was rebuilt in the 1990s. Vintage equipment is still used on the line.
context_section_description: The railway was built during Italian Eritrea in order to connect Massawa and Asmara, the main cities of Eritrea. 
  In the 1930s Italian leader Benito Mussolini wanted to reach Kassala in Sudan, but his war to conquer Ethiopia and create the Italian Empire stopped the enlargement to Agordat and Bishia.
  After damage suffered by the railway during World War II, the section between Massawa and Asmara was dismantled partially and was only rebuilt in the 1990s by the Eritrean authorities.
  The railway is narrow gauge and is being rebuilt after the devastation wreaked upon it by the war of independence. Its newest equipment is over fifty years old, with most of it predating World War II.
  It is one of the few railway systems still in existence (excluding tourist railways) using equipment like the 1930s Italian-built 'Littorina' railcars behind 1930s-vintage Mallet steam locomotives.
caption: Railway station at Asmara
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