Ethiopia railway museum - Dire Dawa (Chemin de Fer Railway Museum)

The Chemin de Fer Railway Museum in Dire Dawa feels less like a museum and more like an abandoned junkyard of rusty relics. The collection, if you can call it that, consists of dilapidated trains, decaying carriages, and scattered artifacts that seem to have been left to the mercy of time and the elements.

One of the most shocking discoveries is that a particularly rusty, soiled carriage—its floor littered with khat—turned out to be part of a train that still runs. It's a bizarre and rather disheartening sight, a testament to how little care has gone into preserving this supposed piece of Ethiopia’s history.

The old French-built narrow-gauge railway, once connecting Djibouti and Addis Ababa, has been replaced by a modern Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). While the new railway is a much-needed improvement, it only highlights how outdated and neglected this museum has become. Frankly, it’s time for the Chinese to step in and give the museum the same kind of overhaul they brought to the rail system itself.

The one redeeming quality of the museum is its sheer size. The large open terrain allows visitors to freely wander and explore the wreckage. For some, this unstructured experience might feel like a treasure hunt, but for most, it’s just a depressing reminder of what happens when history is left to rust.

If you’re a hardcore railway enthusiast or someone who enjoys exploring forgotten spaces, you might find some charm here. But for anyone expecting a well-maintained museum that celebrates Ethiopia’s railway heritage, this place is a major disappointment.