The Italian colonial railways started with the opening in 1888 of a short section of line in Italian Eritrea, and ended in 1943 with the loss of Italian Libya after the Allied offensive in North Africa and the destruction of the railways around Italian Tripoli. The colonial railways of the Kingdom of Italy reached 1,561 kilometres (970 mi) before WWII.
The construction of railways in the African Italian colonies (Eritrea, Libya and Somalia) did not have, for various reasons, a great development compared to that promoted by other European countries on the same continent. [1]
The first rail lines were built mainly for war needs in the absence of efficient means of communication in the occupied territories, after the conquests of Eritrea and Libya. However, were quite limited in the first decades of occupation. In 1940 the amount of railways in operation, between Italian East Africa and Libya, amounted to 1,556 km of which, however, the 693 km of the Italian section of the Railway Djibouti-Addis Ababa were pre-existing and built by the French Empire for Ethiopia.
The railways were built by Italy from the outset with little potential, because built with narrow gauge rails and with light metal type, and were never of great economic importance because isolated from the lines of neighboring states. Indeed, the choice of a gauge 950 mm (3 ft 1+3⁄8 in), different from the meter gauge usually used in Africa, contributed to this effect. Today most of these Italian colonial railways have disappeared: those of Somalia after the British occupation in 1941–1945. The Libyan ones were suppressed in the 1960s, but in the same decade the Eritrean railway between Italian Asmara and Massawa was reactivated after long neglect of trafficking.
In 1940 there were some projects of new colonial railways in the Italian Empire:
Two international projects were studied for decades, but never done because of excessive financial difficulties:
All these projects were stopped by the WW2 defeat of Italy.
In 1940 the Italian colonial railways had 1,561 km and were the following:
| Railway name | Km | Years when built | Colony |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addis Abeba–Gibuti | 684 kmOnly Ethiopia section | 1902-1917 |  Africa Orientale Italiana (Ethiopia) |
| Asmara–Biscia | 227 km | 1914–1932 | Africa Orientale Italiana (Eritrea) |
| Bengasi–Soluch | 56 km | 1926 |  Italian Libya |
| Bengasi–Barce | 108 km | 1914–1927 | Italian Libya |
| Massaua–Asmara | 118 km | 1901–1911 | Africa Orientale Italiana (Eritrea) |
| Massaua–Saati | 26 km | 1886–1887 | Africa Orientale Italiana (Eritrea) |
| Mogadiscio–Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi | 113 km | 1924–1927 | Africa Orientale Italiana (Somalia) |
| Tripoli–Tagiura | 21 km | 1912 | Italian Libya |
| Tripoli–Vertice 31 | 90 km | 1912–1915 | Italian Libya |
| Tripoli–Zuara | 118 km | 1912–1919 | Italian Libya |
| Ferrovie coloniali italiane (Italian colonial railways) | 1,561 km |
With the above railways there were some decauville railways, like:
Italian East Africa was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 after the Second Italo-Ethiopian War through the merger of Italian Somaliland, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire.
Italian Somaliland was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and Majeerteen in the north, and in the south by the political entities; Hiraab Imamate and the Geledi Sultanate.
Rail transport in Ethiopia is done within the National Railway Network of Ethiopia, which currently consists of three electrified standard gauge railway lines: the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway, the Awash–Weldiya Railway and the Weldiya–Mekelle Railway. Other lines are still in the planning phase. There is also an urban light rail system in the country's capital, the Addis Ababa Light Rail.
RAF Castel Benito was an airport of Tripoli created by the Italians in Italian Libya. Originally, it was a small military airport named Castel Benito, but it was enlarged in the late 1930s and was later used by the British RAF after 1943. It was called RAF Castel Benito by the Allies.
The Ethio-Djibouti Railway is a metre gauge railway in the Horn of Africa that once connected Addis Ababa to the port city of Djibouti. The operating company was also known as the Ethio-Djibouti Railways. The railway was built in 1894–1917 to connect the Ethiopian capital city to French Somaliland. During early operations, it provided landlocked Ethiopia with its only access to the sea. After World War II, the railway progressively fell into a state of disrepair due to competition from road transport.
Italian Somalis are Somali-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Somalia during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Somalia. Most of the Italians moved to Somalia during the Italian colonial period.
The Mogadiscio–Villabruzzi Railway is an historical railway system that ran through southern Somalia. It was constructed between 1914 and 1927 by the colonial authorities in Italian Somaliland. The railway connected the capital city Mogadishu with Afgooye, and subsequently with Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi – usually called "Villabruzzi". The line was later dismantled by British troops during World War II. Plans for re-establishing the railway were made in the 1980s by the Siad Barre administration, but were aborted after the regime's collapse.
Castel Benito was an airport of Tripoli created by the Italians in Italian Libya in the early 1930s. It was called RAF Castel Benito by the Allies after 1943.
Libyan railways are the Italian colonial railways in Italian Libya. They are related to the development of the railways in the Italian colonial empire. This history started with the opening in 1888 of a short section of line in Italian Eritrea, and ended in 1947 with the loss of Italian Libya after the Allied offensive in North Africa and the destruction of the railways around Italian Tripoli. The railways in the Italian colonial empire reached 1,561 km before World War II.
Railway transport in Somalia consisted of the erstwhile Mogadishu–Villabruzzi Railway and secondary tracks. The system was built during the 1910s by the authorities in Italian Somaliland. Its track gauge was 950 mm, a gauge favoured by the Italians in their colonies in the Horn of Africa and North Africa. The railway was dismantled in the 1940s by the British during their military occupation of Italian Somaliland, and was subsequently never rehabilitated.
Somalia Governorate was one of the six governorates of Italian East Africa. It was formed from the previously separate colony of Italian Somalia, enlarged by the Ogaden region of the conquered Ethiopian Empire following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
Italian Libya Railways was a group of railways built in the Italian colony of Libya between the two World Wars.
Italians of Ethiopia are Ethiopian-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Ethiopia starting in the 19th century during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Ethiopia.
Italian Ethiopia, also known as the Italian Empire of Ethiopia, was the territory of the Ethiopian Empire, which Italy occupied for approximately five years. Italian Ethiopia was not an administrative entity, but the formal name of the former territory of the Ethiopian Empire, which now constituted the Governorates of Amhara, Harar, Galla-Sidamo, and Scioa after the establishment of Italian East Africa.
All railway stations in Italian Somaliland were served by the Mogadishu–Villabruzzi Railway of 114 kilometres (71 mi).
The Italian Somali Divisions were two divisions of colonial soldiers from Italian Somaliland that were formed as part of the Regio Esercito Royal Corps of Colonial Troops during the Second World War. In the Royal Corps of Colonial Troops, the units comprised the "101 Divisione Somala" and "102 Divisione Somala" and fought during the East African Campaign in 1941 before disbanding.
Vittorio di Africa was a small town in southern Italian Somalia, created by Italian colonists in the late 1920s near the southern Shebelle river.
The Imperial Line was a flight route of the Italian national airline Ala Littoria between 1935 and 1941 during the Fascist era. It was the longest route in the Italian colonial empire in Africa and "the jewel in Ala Littoria's crown". It connected Rome with Benghazi (Libya), Asmara (Eritrea), Addis Abeba (Ethiopia) and Mogadishu (Somalia). It carried passengers and mail. Italy ultimately lost control of the route during World War II.
The Petrella Airport was the first international airport in Italian Somalia. It was opened in 1928 -just 3 miles south of Mogadishu- with the name "Enrico Petrella" in honor of an Italian pilot who died a few years before in the same airport of Italian Mogadiscio. In 1941 the airport was partially destroyed during WW2 and remained inactive for some years as a civilian airport: only military airplanes used it. In 1950 was reopened as a civilian airport by the Italian authorities of the ONU Fiduciary Mandate.
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