Ethio-Djibouti Railway Share Company (EDR / EDRSC) — built by China Railway Engineering Group (CREC) and CRRC, financed under a tri-lateral Government of Ethiopia / Government of Djibouti / Exim Bank of China framework
Ethiopia
Djibouti
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The Journey
Navigate from Furi-Lebu Station, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Nagad Station, Djibouti City (Djibouti) across a span of 728km. This is an overnight service.
Scenery Highlights
Awash River gorge and Awash National Park wildlife (beisa oryx, hamadryas baboon, crocodile, hundreds of bird species)
Ethiopian Highlands — the line descends from 2,400 m at Addis Ababa to roughly 750 m at Dire Dawa across the first 500 km
Dire Dawa's old Franco-Ethiopian railway quarter, Kezira cotton mills and the 1910-built colonial station (still in operation and used as the modern mandatory customs stop)
Afar Triangle volcanic landscape with basalt outcrops and geothermal fumaroles visible at distance
Ali Sabieh mountain plateau — a rocky, cactus-dotted highland before the descent to the coast
Final Red Sea coastal approach to Nagad via the Gulf of Tadjoura
Margins of the Danakil Depression visible at great distance in clear weather (sea-level basin ~120 m below sea level)
Sunrise over the Afar lowlands — the line crosses some of the lowest-lying, hottest inhabited territory on the continent
Quick Facts
Duration
17.5 hours
Distance
728 km
Est. Price
Mid-range ($45 hard seat to $119 soft sleeper, foreigner fares published in USD)
Meals: Optional (Ethiopian / Djiboutian meal box available onboard for ~USD 6; dining car sells tea, coffee, bottled water and snacks)
Ensuite: No
Meals: None (cafeteria car sells tea, coffee, water and snacks)
Ensuite: No
Meals: None
Ensuite: No
Engine / Locomotive
CRRC HXD1C twin-unit 25 kV AC electric locomotives (5,600 kW twin-unit, Bo'Bo'+Bo'Bo' configuration) for the electrified 728 km corridor, paired with CRRC DF11G diesel-electric locomotives for cross-border and station-shunting flexibility
Locomotive Weight
Approx. 138 t (CRRC HXD1C electric twin-unit) / Approx. 138 t (CRRC DF11G diesel-electric)
Track Gauge
1,435 mm (standard gauge)
Braking Technology
Air disc brakes with Knorr-Bremse systems, electro-pneumatic backup, regenerative braking on the electric locomotives feeding back into the 25 kV catenary
Route Engineering Challenges
Crossing the Afar Depression margins (sections dropping below 100 m above sea level in the Danakil approach)
Descending from the Ethiopian Highlands (~2,400 m at Addis Ababa) to sea level at Djibouti across roughly 700 km — the most dramatic sustained gradient change on any operational railway in sub-Saharan Africa
Sustaining concrete sleepers and steel rail through extreme Afar heat (commonly up to 48 °C in summer, with summer surface temperatures routinely above 60 °C)
Building deep cuttings and embankments through volcanic basalt terrain between Awash and Aysha
Co-ordinating two national railway administrations at the Dawanle border (passport checks conducted inside the train)
Single-track alignment over 90% of the route — passing loops at Bishoftu, Adama, Awash, Dire Dawa, Aysha and Holhol allow train crossings roughly every 60 km
Maritime-salt corrosion on the coastal 60 km between Ali Sabieh and Nagad requiring high-grade stainless fasteners
High-rainfall equatorial engineering near Meki and Welenchiti where annual rainfall exceeds 1,200 mm
Awash Gorge flash-flood control during the June–September kiremt rainy season requiring engineered debris-flow management
Maintaining catenary integrity and ballast stability across the Afar Red Sea coastal corridor where daytime temperatures and salt-marine air combine to accelerate corrosion
Line length
728 km (Furi-Lebu to Nagad)
Construction
2012 – 2017, with through-running from 1 January 2018 and full commercial freight from October 2018