Railroading in Ethiopia has a long and somewhat odd history - the French built a railroad 100 years ago for Emperor Menelik to link his new capital city, Addis Ababa with the Red Sea port of Djibouti hundreds of miles away. Even today, staff on the railroad make announcements in French (even though Ethiopia's official language is Amharic and English is the most common European language).
Much of the line had fallen into serious disrepair, but now, thanks to support from the European Union, the line is being rehabilitated and there are bold plans for hundreds of miles of new routes. Given the rugged, beautiful territory the Addis-Djibouti line crosses, it could become a major tourist destination.
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