Massaua – Biscia railway line

Massaua-Biscia
Between Arbaroba and Asmara
Route length:	343 (188 km in operation) km
Gauge :	950 mm ( Italian meter gauge )
Minimum radius :	70 m
Legend 0 Massaua port 2 m old route formerly a stop for Littorina Dam over Massaua Bay 2 m 1.8 Massaua (Taulud) "Central Station" Dam over Massaua Bay 2 m Port connection 2.8 Edaga Berai 2 m 3.8 Campo Marte 9 m Port part of Abd el Kader Saltworks 4.6 Otumlo 11 m 3-arch viaduct Massaua – Asmara road 7.7 Moncullo 30 m 14-arch viaduct over the Obel 13.0 Amassat 66 m 3-arch viaduct 5-arch viaduct 2-arch viaduct 2-arch viaduct 2-arch viaduct 19.5 Dogali 100 m 8-arch viaduct 12-arch viaduct old route 27.0 Saati 29.4 May Atal 168 m 35.9 Junction 36 312 m Tunnel 1 42.1 Intersection 42 475 m Tunnel 2 4-arch viaduct 3-arch viaduct 45.0 Demas 416 m 51.6 Junction 52 516 m 57.0 Baresa 600 m 4-arch viaduct 64.2 Junction 65 788 m 4-arch viaduct 5-arch viaduct 4-arch viaduct Tunnel 3 Tunnel 4 4-arch viaduct Tunnel 5 May Adkemom (4 bridges) 69.6 Ghinda 888 m Massaua-Asmara cable car 3-arch viaduct May Adkemom Massaua-Asmara road 75.0 Junction 75 1069 m several turning loops Tunnel 6 Massaua-Asmara road 81.0 Embatkalla 1274 m Tunnel 7 Tunnel 8 Tunnel 9 Massaua-Asmara road, old route Massaua-Asmara road 5-arch viaduct 5-arch viaduct Massaua-Asmara cable car 87.0 Junction 87 1473 m Tunnel 10 93.9 Nefasite 1671 m Massaua-Asmara road Massaua-Asmara cable car Tunnel 11 99.2 Junction 99 1874 m Tunnel 12-16 Gallery 16bis Tunnel 17-20 104.9 Arbaroba 2064 m 5-arch viaduct Tunnel 21 2084 m 107.4 Hinzi 1-arch viaduct Tunnel 22 2150 m Tunnel 23 Tunnel 24 2167 m Tunnel 25 Tunnel 26 2200 m Tunnel 27 2216 m 110.4 Shegerini 2246 m Tunnel 28 2249 m Massaua-Asmara road 4-arch viaduct 2-arch viaduct 2298 m Tunnel 29 115.0 Junction 115 2394 m Siding 117.6 Asmara 2342 m 120.0 Gagiret 127.2 Tzada Cristian 2292 m 137.2 Zazegà 2217 m Tunnel 30 148.5 The Sebai 1988 m 156.5 Adennà 1907 m Tunnel 31 164.9 Abrascicò 1783 m 176.3 Amba Derhò 1688 m Tunnel 32 Tunnel 33 185.7 Furkutù 1635 m 195.3 Ela Berhèd 1468 m Tunnel 34 209.0 Adi Hidrum 212.3 Halib Mentèl 1423 m Ghelu 222.0 Keren Villagio 223.9 Keren 1390 m 4 sheets 232.0 6 sheets 236.0 Asciadira 1204 m 4 sheets 241.0 Hagaz 3 sheets 249.0 Hummet 935 m 3 sheets 256.8 Agàt 864 m 5 sheets 265.7 Dorotài 795 m 3-span concrete bridge 273.6 Mài Adartè 750 m 286.7 Umfutàt 669 m 291.0 Closer 298.5 Carobel 677 m Steel lattice bridge 3 segments Steel lattice bridge 3 segments 3 sheets 310.4 Accordate 650 m 326.0 Algheden 343.0 Biscia 715 m 351.0 Expansion end

The Massaua – Biscia railway ( Italian Ferrovia Massaua – Biscia ) is a narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 950 mm in Eritrea . Today it leads from the port city of Massaua to Asmara and used to reach on to Biscia (Bischia). The route was of great economic and military importance in colonial times. During the Eritrean War of Independence , it was so damaged that operations had to be stopped in 1976. In 1995 the now independent Eritrean state began its reconstruction between Massaua and Asmara. The route is currently only used for tourist purposes. There are expansion plans.

history

construction

Former reception building of the Massaua-Taulud train station

To consolidate the newly conquered colony, the Italian military built a narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 750 mm between 1887 and 1888 from the port city of Massaua ( it. Massaia ) to the Saati fortress 27 km away . This Ferrovia Massaua – Saati was initially a pure military railway . In 1895 engineers of the Italian Ferrovie Meridionali Sarde presented plans for an extension of the line between Dogali on the existing line and Kassala in Sudan .

In 1897 the colonial administration was moved from Massaua to Asmara , a then insignificant place on the plateau, which thus became the capital of the colony. In 1898 responsibility for the railway was transferred to the civil administration and at the same time the decision was made to re-track the existing line to the narrow-gauge track width of 950 mm that is common in Italy , to continue construction in this version and to drive it to Asmara. These two parts of the route can still be seen today in the differences in the structural design of the bridges : Below Mai Atal the bridge arches are designed as segment arches , above as round arches .

Since 1900 the railway was operated under the name Ferrovie Eritree (FE). Ghinda (km 69.4), the most important stopover, was reached in 1904. From Ghinda at 888 m above sea level to Asmara at 2349 m as the crow flies, an altitude difference of 1461 m had to be overcome in just 20 km. Since a maximum gradient of 35 ‰ should not be exceeded and a maximum arc radius of 70 meters should not be undercut, a route of 48.2 km of route kilometers with 24 tunnels (of a total of 29 - the longest measures 372 m), a gallery and 65 Bridges built. With this technical masterpiece, Asmara was reached in 1911. Overall, the route between Massaua and Asmara should have 667 curves. According to the 1912 timetable, there were 3 passenger trains a week in each direction, which took six hours for the ascent and 5½ hours for the descent.

In 1918, Ferrovie Eritrée (FE) signed a contract with a private Milanese trading and finance company to continue building the railway to the west and connecting it to the railway in Sudan . The construction was continued in several stages. Keren (it. Cheren : 221.7 km, 1390 m.) Was reached in 1922, Agordat (306.3 km, 650 m) in 1928 and Biscia (337 km, 715 m) in 1932. The connection to Tessenai , from where connection to be won over to the Cape-gauge railway in Sudan, did not come about. On the western section of the route to Biscia, the maximum gradient could be limited to approximately 25 ‰. The permissible axle load on the entire route is 12 tons.

Upswing before the Italo-Ethiopian War

In 1928 the railroad between Massaua and Asmara carried 100,000 travelers. From around 1935 Littorinas , diesel railcars , were in use that only had 28 first- class seats and took just under four hours for the route.

In freight transport, the loads are tightly limited due to the gradients. The Mallet locomotives could pull 90 tons (about eight loaded freight cars), the others were limited to 50 tons (about five freight cars). With the preparations for the war of conquest against Ethiopia , the railroad gained importance and the FE was heavily burdened. In 1935 Italy conquered Ethiopia , incorporated it into its colonial empire and formed the new colony of Italian East Africa from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland . The railways in this area received a joint administration: Società Nazionale per le Ferrovie Coloniali Italiane . According to an official report from 1936, the Massawi – Asmara section was occupied by 38 trains a day, which was borderline for a single-track line with few crossings. This burden continued until about the end of 1938. The railway employed up to 30,000 people and was the largest employer in the country. Nevertheless, the railway could not meet the requirements of the military, so a 75 km long material ropeway was built - roughly parallel to the railway - the Massaua-Asmara cable car .

Decline during and after World War II

Between Ghinda and Embatkalla

In the Second World War , the British army, starting from the Sudanese route network, drove the Malawiya – Tessenai railway in the Cape Gauge used in Sudan to Eritrea, which ultimately extended to about 38 km west of Tessenai. However, the gap to the Massawi – Asmara railway line was not closed.

After the Italian colonial power lost the war in the area of ​​their colony in 1941, the new British rulers used some of the railway facilities as reparations . This included locomotives, 300 wagons, the track material between Argodat and Biscia and the material already in the country for the further construction of the line to Gonder.

After the Federation of Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1952, the railway was operated by the Imperial State Railways and Cable Car Administration in Eritrea . In the 1955/56 financial year, around 20 million passenger kilometers and 22 million ton kilometers were covered. The railroad's profit represented a significant portion of the state's revenue.

After the annexation of Eritrea by Ethiopia in 1962, the railway operated as the Northern Ethiopian Railway (NER). In 1965, 30 trains were still running on the route every day, carrying 500,000 passengers and 200,000 tons of goods annually. During these years the road between Asmara and Massawi was expanded. The coal for the operation of the steam locomotives was obtained from the United States of America at this time , which was expensive and led the railway further into economic sideline. The Eritrean War of Independence (1962–1991) led to such extensive damage to the railway systems in the mid-1970s that operations had to be stopped in 1976.

Reconstruction of the Massaua – Asmara line

Exit of the planned train from the Arbaroba station towards Asmara

Special train above Sherigini

In 1994 the newly founded state of Eritrea began to rebuild the railway line and in the same year suburban traffic was started in Massaua. The reasons for this were less economic in nature, almost all freight traffic is now handled by trucks . The reconstruction of the railway had a high symbolic value for the state. The construction work was carried out under adverse conditions and with the simplest of means. Reconstruction was delayed by the drafting of many employees into the military. In 1996 the newly built line reached Ghinda, and in 2004 the connection between Massaua and Asmara was restored. To mark the occasion, a series of special stamps was issued by the Eritrean Post.

One of the greatest challenges was the transfer of knowledge from the “old” railway workers, some of whom were over 80 years old, to the younger generation. The Danish State Railways (DSB) had donated the equipment for the Aarhus repair shop , which they had closed, to the Eritrean Railway, worth EUR 200,000–300,000 , and Maersk Line , which thus fulfilled social obligations imposed by Danish law, paid for the transport in two containers. The two containers arrived in the port of Massaua on December 3, 2010 and were taken in a two-day journey by two Mallet steam locomotives to Assamara, where they arrived on December 5. The DSB also supported the campaign with technicians who instructed the local staff on how to use the device. Follow-up training is to take place in 2011. The idea came from a group of railway enthusiasts who had traveled the route in spring 2010. The donation was linked to a study visit by the manager of the repair shop in Asmara and a railway engineer at the Danish State Railways in September 2010 to be instructed in the operation of the machines and devices. This was followed by a visit to the Harz narrow-gauge railways, which was intended to show a railway that was somewhat comparable to the Eritrean railway, but equipped with modern technology.

Route description

Section between Arbaroba and Asmara

Asmara station entrance building

The route begins in the part of the port of Massaua, which is in front of the Massaua island. It leads over a short dam to the island of Taulud, where the "main station" of Massaua was formerly located. The mainland reaches the route via another, longer dam. The first 10 kilometers the route initially runs through the suburbs of Massaua and the flat coastal plain of the Red Sea , a desert , before it becomes hilly. After Moncullo station, the line crosses the Obel river on a 14-arch viaduct, the longest of the line . The route then crosses a refugee camp for Somali refugees . Behind the Mai Atal train station, the route begins to climb considerably and runs through a hilly landscape in a steppe . From Baresa it follows the course of a wadi , on the banks of which one can see again and again river oases in which citrus trees are grown. There are also three tunnels (No. 3–5) that have significant bat populations. Just before Ghinda train station, the route follows a narrow gorge. Between the Ghinda and Embatkalla train stations, the route continues to gain altitude thanks to numerous loops that have been laid in the mountain landscape and then continues to climb to Nefasit train station . A scenic, dramatic section begins here, in which the route leads through numerous tunnels and is laid out in long sections in steep mountain slopes. Immediately behind the Arbaroba train station is a 5-arch viaduct, which embeds the railway line in a picturesque way. Between Arbaroba and far behind Shegerini, mostly with a line of sight to the church of the Shegerini Monastery, there are now numerous loops that were laid in the mountain landscape to gain height for the final ascent to Asmara. Views open from numerous points that simultaneously show several tunnels and sections of road at different heights.

business

The steep gradient of the route leads to some special features: The steam locomotives of the railway always run uphill with the steam boiler to ensure that the parts of the boiler that are in contact with the fire always carry water. The railway works with a single central buffer and a screw coupling underneath . The trains do not have continuous brakes. Every car and every locomotive has a brakeman who operates a mechanical brake. There is no signaling system . The dispatchers used to give the order in writing. Today, if there is more than one train on the route, it is only done verbally via mobile phone .

vehicles

Steam locomotives on the Massaua – Saati narrow-gauge railway

The initial equipment of the railway consisted of four Bn2t tank locomotives from Henschel (factory no. 2430, 2452–2453, 2486/1887) with a gauge of 750 mm, which were designated with the numbers 1–4. The locomotives were ordered by branch lines in Sardinia , but were then taken over by the General Military Administration and rebuilt before being delivered to Massaua in Italy. The military administration later acquired a two-axle locomotive from the Esslingen machine factory (factory no. 2273/1887), which was given the number 5. Numbers 6 and 7 (Henschel, factory no. 3126 and 3127/1890), also with the Bn2t wheel arrangement, came from the military school in Rome . All locomotives were retraced to 950 mm in 1900 and remained in service until 1925.

FE steam locomotives

Mallet locomotives from Maffei and Ansaldo (R.440)

For the mountain route, more powerful locomotives , now for a gauge of 950 mm, were necessary. In 1907 three B'Bn4vt Mallet tank locomotives (factory no. 2642–2644 / 1907) were procured from Maffei in Munich and were given the numbers 8–10. The locomotives were so well suited for the route that they served as a model for further procurement. From 1911 to 1914 Ansaldo procured 13 more mallets with the numbers 11-23. Fifteen machines of the same design were delivered to Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane in 1914 and 1915 , which they used as the R440 series. All mallet locomotives were able to transport a trailer load of 55 t on an incline of 35 ‰. In 1939 all locomotives were given the class designation R.440. The R.440.008 locomotive is the last of its kind to be restored to working order.

Klien-Lindner locomotives from Ansaldo with factory no. 1300–1304 (R.443)

With the completion of the line to Agordat, more locomotives were needed. Instead of the mallet locomotives, four-axle Dh2t tank locomotives with simple steam expansion were purchased. The locomotives were equipped with Klien-Lindner hollow axles to improve cornering . The locomotives with the numbers 41-45 did not prove themselves particularly well, so that Mallet locomotives were procured again in the following years. In 1939 these locomotives were given the series designation 443. No locomotives of this series have survived.

Breda two-axle locomotives (R.202)

The lack of locomotives caused by the increasing volume of traffic was countered by further new purchases and relocations from Italy. Between 1927 and 1932 Breda delivered 11 powerful Bn2t wet steam tank locomotives, which were assigned to the R.202 class in 1939. The letter "R" (for scartamento ridotto , narrow gauge) was dropped when it was redesignated in 1936.

• Breda 2168–2170 / 1927 Bn2t Erythräa R.202.001–003 from 1939 R 202.101–103
• Breda 2272–2273 / 1929 Bn2t Erythräa R.202.004–005 from 1939 R 202.104–105
• Breda 2452-2457 / 1938 Bn2t Erythräa R.202.106-111

Six of these locomotives have been preserved, two are operational, the rest are parked.

Mallet locomotives from Officine Meccaniche Reggio Emilia (R.441)

From 1933 onwards, the Officine Meccaniche Reggio Emilia purchased other mallet locomotives with simple steam expansion in superheated steam design, some of which were equipped with superheaters . The towing capacity of these machines was 20% higher than that of the existing mallet locomotives. When they were redesignated in 1936, they were given the series designation R.441.

• Reggiane 136-143 / 1933 B'B'-n4vt Erythräa R.441.25-441.32
• Reggiane 144-151 / 1936 B'B'-n4vt Erythräa R.441.33-441.40

There are said to have been more copies of this series, because after the Second World War four locomotives of this series were brought to Libya , while one remained in Eritrea.

Implementation of various locomotives from Italy (R.440)

In 1936 12 mallets were withdrawn from the narrow-gauge railways in Sicily and relocated to Eritrea. Further machines were made from existing parts in the workshop in Asmara. In addition, two Apio (wheel arrangement Cn2t and 1Cn2t) were taken over from the Italian State Railways.

• Ansaldo 1113–1115 / 1914 B'B'n4vt FS (Col.Afr.) R.440.1 – R.440.3
• Ansaldo 1116–1118 / 1915 B'B'n4vt FS (Col.Afr.) R.440.4 – R.440.6
• Ansaldo 1161–1163 / 1915 B'B'n4vt FS (Col.Afr.) R.440.7 – R.440.9
• Ansaldo 1164–1166 / 1916 B'B'n4vt FS (Col.Afr.) R.440.10 – R.440.12

None of these locomotives have survived.

Ansaldo Mallet Locomotives (R.442)

In 1938 Ansaldo delivered another eight B'B'h4vt superheated steam mallets in a reinforced design, which were given the series designation R.442 in 1939 . These machines could pull 90 t over the slope to Asmara. The 442.54, 442.55, 442.56 and the 442.59 are operational.

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  Asmara depot

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  Locomotives of the class R.202 in Asmara

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  Class R.440 locomotive; Shegerini Monastery in the background

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  Ansaldo R.442.56 in the Asmara depot

Diesel vehicles

Littorine

With the rise of Asmara, the need for comfortable travel options also grew. For this purpose nine Littorines were delivered to Eritrea between 1935 and 1937 . These rail buses had good running characteristics, were equipped with 28 first class seats and stopped in Massaua at a specially built stop located between the port and the old town. Two vehicles of this type, No. 2 and No. 7 have been preserved, at least one of which is operational. In addition, there is another railcar called “Littorinella No. 2”, also operational.

There is also a no longer running two-axle railcar from Brown Boveri , which is parked in the workshop in Asmara and was previously used as a generator car .

Diesel locomotives

In 1940 BBC in Milan built four diesel locomotives with the wheel arrangement Bo'Bo 'with an output of 550 HP, but because of the course of the war they were no longer shipped to Eritrea. The first diesel locomotive to be used in Eritrea was a two-axle machine, also from BBC, with the wheel arrangement Bo and an output of 150 hp, which was driven by the British army from the railway line Mogadishu - Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi (today: Jawhar ) from Italian- Somaliland (see: Rail transport in Somalia ), where it had been in service since 1935, was relocated to the Eritrean Railway. The completely dismantled outer shell of the vehicle is preserved in Mai Atal station.

Shortly after the Second World War , several diesel-electric locomotives, known as “ FIAT TL 150 ”, were purchased from the Italian manufacturer Fiat . The locomotives had the Bo'Bo wheel arrangement, a top speed of 70 km / h, an operating weight of 46 tons and an output of 550 hp. A copy, no longer usable, is in Mài Atal. After the annexation of Eritrea by Ethiopia, four diesel-hydraulic locomotives from Krupp , wheel arrangement B'B ', with an output of 630 hp were procured in 1957 . Two of them, the D25 and D27, are operational. However, since the vehicles consume approx. 4 liters of diesel fuel per kilometer, they cannot be used economically.

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  Asmara train station 1938

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  Wreck of the former Somali diesel locomotive in Mai Atal station

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  Diesel locomotive 27D in Ghinda station

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  Rebuilt Ural 375D

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  Route control vehicle

Track vehicles

Exceptional is a track vehicle, the railway Eritrea, the using of a motorcycle of Motoguzzi was prepared. In addition, the railway administration has also two converted to rail vehicles Russian truck type Ural-375D . These vehicles come out regularly for maintenance work. One of the previous three rail cranes is now operational.

dare

Standard passenger car “3. Class"

Former suburban train

Freight train entering Asmara station

Originally there were three car classes . The historic, now remanufactured, roadworthy four-axle passenger cars with two bogies - there should be 10 in total - all bear the signs “III. Class " . Based on the different window layouts of some of these cars, it can be assumed that they were originally multi-class . They have open entry platforms, one of which is the workplace for a brakeman. The wagons are equipped with wooden benches arranged at right angles to the direction of travel. The windows only have sun protection grilles, but no glazing.

There are also two sets of open passenger cars with benches arranged on the long sides. These were built in a very simple design on flat wagons . Tarpaulins can be stretched over the trolleys as sun protection. With at least one of these sets from Massaua to the Otumlo station a - now discontinued - suburban traffic was operated. Small shunting diesel locomotives were used as the train locomotives and are now parked in Asmara.

A number of freight cars have also been preserved or restored. There are two-axle freight cars as well as those with four axles and two bogies. There are flat wagons, gondolas and box wagons . Today they are no longer used in freight transport and are usually used as "baggage cars" in tourist trains or as a backdrop in special trips that are driven for railway photographers.

Today's traffic

A tourist train ran on weekends - if there were enough passengers (at least 10) willing to pay 50 US dollars for the journey from Asmara to Nefasit. In addition, special trains could be ordered to travel the whole route or in sections. However, since the beginning of 2014 there has been no coal left to operate the steam locomotives. Also, there has probably been no maintenance on the vehicles since 2012, so that operation is now (2015) suspended.

future

Asmara-Massaua

Since old material had to be used for the reconstruction, it was carried out on the technical standard of 1920. This means that rail profiles of 28 kg / m were laid again, which limits the axle load to 12 tons, there is no signal system and the sidings of the single-track Route are short. The light superstructure does not allow heavy freight trains . The route is currently not designed for effective rail traffic. In the future, rails with a thickness of 50 kg / m are to be installed. According to estimates, 500,000 tons of goods per year would currently be the maximum transport volume.

Freight traffic is planned between Massaua, Asmara and possibly beyond. In 2006, a test drive took place in which a 40-foot ISO container and a tank car for oil were transported over the route on a flat wagon , because the rumor was that the tunnel profiles were too narrow for this. Contrary to expectations, this load easily fit through all tunnels . The experiment was repeated in June 2010 and in December 2010 two containers with equipment for the railroad were transported from the port in Massawi to Asmara.

The railroad is negotiating with companies in China and Europe to buy diesel locomotives. In order to be able to do international business at all, the Eritrean rehabilitation project would have to be converted into a legal form that is also recognized abroad, e.g. B. a state railway or a stock corporation .

West of Asmara

One problem with lengthening the line to the west of Asmara is that the historic route in the city area was partially built over. Among other things, the large grandstand of Bahti-Meskerem-Platz, the central parade ground of Asmara, stands across the former route. The most realistic thing today seems to be a southern bypass of the city along the ring road that is under construction.

The stretch west of Asmara has been completely dismantled and was not part of the Eritrean rehabilitation project . The existing route was cleared between Keren and about six kilometers from Asmara. At the moment, however, there is a lack of rail material, especially switches .

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  Rest of the Asmara – Biscia route

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  Overbuilt track in Asmara

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  Entrance building of the Keren train station, today: market and bus station

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  The reception building of the Argodat train station

Future operation

As future main users of the railway, three large companies come into question: a cement works near Massaua, which could use it to transport building materials to Asmara, and two mines inland, which could take their degradation products by train to the port of Massaua.

• The cement plant currently delivers around 250,000 tons of cement to Asmara and beyond. It does not yet have a rail connection, but only a few kilometers of track would have to be laid. A salt production plant near Massaua could also transport its product to the highlands by train.
• The Bisha copper-zinc mine is located near Biscia and would have an annual transport requirement of 0.5 to 1 million tons of ore concentrate. This transport volume alone guaranteed economical operation of the railway. However, Bisha is 220 km west of Asmara and 100 km from the dismantled line at Keren and 40 km from the former end point of the railway in Agordat. The capital outlay required is substantial and therefore it is unlikely to be realized.
• Sunridge has explored gold around Embadorho , just 25 km from Asmara . Here, around 250,000 tons of ore concentrate per year is expected that would have to be transported to Massaua.

The mine operators have offered to pay the transport costs for five years in advance in order to finance the necessary investments by the railway. But that will probably not be enough.

In addition to the complementary stretches eight diesel locomotives would have 1,500 horsepower and 180 freight cars are financed, as well as a - presumably on radio technology -based train control system . A total financial volume of approx. 50 million US dollars. Offers from China and Germany are available for the locomotives . In addition, five or six diesel multiple units with 100 to 120 seats each are to be procured.

See also

• Decauville Railway Massaua – Saati
• Massaua-Asmara cable car
• Rail transport in Eritrea
• Rail transport in Ethiopia

literature

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• Franz Baltzer : The colonial railways with a special focus on Africa. Berlin 1916. Reprint: Leipzig 2008, ISBN 978-3-8262-0233-9 , p. 268 ff.
• Michael Bleckmann: Tour Report Eritrea 2011 . Berlin 2011. (PDF; 1.8 MB)
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• G. Buonomo: La ferrovia Masaua-Saati. In: Bolletino della società africana d'Italia 7 (1888), pp. 228-231.
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• C: Della Valle: Appunti the storia industriale dell'Eritrea: le construzioni ferroviale. In: Riv. delle colonie italiane 1942, p. 1140.
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• Neil Robinson: World Rail Atlas and Historical Summary 7 = North, East ans Central Africa. o. O. 2009, plate 35 and 39. ISBN 978-954-92184-3-5 .
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• Bernd Seiler: Eritrea - Railway between the past and the future. In: LOK Report, Issue 4, pp. 52–58.
• CS Small: Far Wheels. A Railroad Safari. London 1959. [After reprinted in excerpts in: HaRakevet 23/4 (2010), pp. 22-25.]
• Thilo Thielke u. Volkhard Windfuhr: goddess of steel. In: Der Spiegel . 9/2008, p. 132.
• Gian Guido Turchi: Treni italiani d'Eritrea. Editrice Trasporti su Rotaie, 2003.

Web links

Commons : Massaua – Biscia railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Massawa – Asmara railway line with Railway Romanticism
• Website of Ferrovia Eritrea ( Italian )
• Italian colonial railways in Eritrea (PDF; 206 kB Italian )
• Eritrea Railway at Mare
• Pictures on railpictures.net
• Eritrea using local resources to revitalize its railway Railway Gazette International June 2006
• Eritrean Railways at War
• Ralph Reinhold's website on Bahn in Eritrea
• UN Map Horn Africa (PDF; 959 kB)
• UN Dept
• Giulio Pasquali: La Ferrovia coloniale Massaua-Asmara ( Memento from June 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information from: Imperial Ethiopian Government: Railway Administration in Eritrea (bibliography), 2. – 4. October 2011.
2. ↑ According to other information (e.g. Kautzor) 606 m.
3. ↑ Robinson, p. 38; Grimm, p. 153, states that the railway was destroyed as early as 1961, but this is unlikely since the civil war did not begin until 1962.
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Robinson, p. 38.
5. ↑ The deviating specification of 39 tunnels here refers to the entire route to Biscia and also evaluates the gallery as a tunnel.
6. ↑ Thielke.
7. ↑ Reproduction of the timetable in: Leonardo Oriolo: Asmara Style . Asmara 1998, p. 16.
8. ↑ Small, p. 24, col. 2, cites 1925.
9. ↑ Mussie, p. 115.
10. ^ Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst: Eritrea on the Eve . London 1952, p. 16.
11. ↑ Small, p. 24, col. 3; Robinson p. 38.
12. ^ Imperial Ethiopian Government, p. 8.
13. ↑ Robinson p. 38.
14. ↑ Grönstedt, p. 13.
15. ^ Dan Connell & Tom Killion: Historical Dictionary of Eritrea . 2nd edition Lanham 2011, keyword: "Railroad" .
16. ↑ Grimm, p. 153; Dan Connell & Tom Killion: Historical Dictionary of Eritrea . 2nd edition Lanham 2011, keyword: "Railroad" , names the year 2006.
17. ↑ Seiler, p. 56.
18. ↑ Detailed report on the action at: Grimm.
19. ↑ Grimm, p. 154.
20. ^ Imperial Ethiopian Government, p. 6.
21. ↑ Ansaldo factory no. 912–916 / 1911 = Erythrea 11–15, 1060 and 1061/1913 = Erythrea 16 and 17, 1105–1112 / 1914 = Erythrea 14, 13, 18-23
22. ↑ Seiler, p. 53; Kautzor.
23. ↑ No .: 2, 4 and 8-11: Kautzor.
24. ↑ Including No. 2: Kautzor.
25. ↑ Small, p. 24, col. 3.
26. ↑ Ansaldo 1363–1365 / 1938 B'B'h4vt Erythräa 442.53–442.60
27. ↑ See: Kautzor; Grimm, p. 154; Seiler, p. 56; Bleckmann.
28. ↑ ^{a b c} Kautzor.
29. ^ Wolfgang Messerschmid History of the Italian electric and diesel locomotives Orell Füssli 1969. Without ISBN
30. ^ After a note by Walter Rothschild in: Small, p. 24, col. 1: 1958.
31. ↑ Seiler, p. 56; Kautzor.
32. ↑ According to information provided by the locomotive staff, a vehicle needs 1,500 liters of diesel for the route Asmara – Massaua – Asmara (376 km).
33. ↑ See Grimm, p. 154, fig. 1.
34. ↑ Information mainly based on Kautzor.
35. ^ Reproduction of the timetable from 1912 in: Leonardo Oriolo: Asmara Style . Asmara 1998, p. 16.
36. ↑ Seiler, p. 53
37. ^ NN: F. Eritrea. In: HaRakevet 29/1 = No. 108 v. March 2015, p. 26f.
38. ↑ ^{a b} Information, unless otherwise noted, from Seiler.
39. ↑ Grönstedt, p. 118, shows the built-up areas in detail.
40. ↑ Kautzor gives a detailed report of the condition of the route after driving it with an off-road vehicle and inspection.