Characteristics
Originally the railway was built by the Italians in order to connect Massawa and Asmara, the main cities of Italian 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 slowly being rebuilt after the devastation wreaked upon it by the war of independence.
It still manages to operate, however, despite its newest equipment being nearly 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.
Read more about this topic: Eritrean Railway