Eritrean
Railway & Ropeway
Beyond Keren
I know of very few pictures between Keren and Agordat
Photo courtesy of Jerry Pry
The scenery between Keren and Agordat was every bit as spectacular
as that between Asmara and Massawa. It would have been one of the
great train rides of history to have ridden from Massawa to Biscia.
Photo courtesy of Mebrat Tzehaie and Hans van der
Splinter form Asmara Style.
This picture is not specifically identified as being between Keren
and Agordat. However, all of the bridges between Asmara and Massawa
were stone arch viaducts. The railway does not cross any significant
torrente (seasnonal river) between Asmara and Keren. It is
an impressive steel truss bridge. The truss to the right is about
5 littorine long or about 200 feet!
Like Keren, the railway station is now being used as a bus station.
The main hotel, Savoy, is next to the station. According to East
African Handbook, the Savoy is quite run down.
At one time, the line went slightly beyond Agordat to Biscia.
The Italians were trying to reach the Sudanese rail line at Tessenai.
Had the line reached Tessenai, there was a change of gauge. According
to Jane's the Sudan Railway from Tessenai to Kassala (and beyond) line
was 1.067 meters (42 inch). The passengers would have had to change
trains at Tessenai.
However, I knew of nobody who went beyond Keren. In 1942, the
British tore up the tracks from Biscia to Agordat.
