Trains in Ethiopia

436 routes and 1 operators. Fares below are the cheapest we currently sell on each.

We sell 436 Trains routes in Ethiopia, serving 16 places through 1 operator. 112 of those routes cross a border. The cheapest fare is €15.19 and the median route runs 321 km.

Checked 2 October 2026Priced for 2 October 2026One passenger, all fees included

The network

Trains in Ethiopia, in numbers

What we actually sell, counted rather than claimed.

  • 436Routes we sell
  • 16Places served
  • 1Operators
  • 324Domestic routes
  • 112Cross border routes
  • 321 kmMedian route
  • 578 kmLongest route
  • 1Countries
Routes

The busiest Trains routes in Ethiopia

Priced from the same engine that answers the search box, on the next three weeks of departures.

The routes we sell in Ethiopia, busiest first, priced over the next three weeks.
RouteFromFastestDistance
Addis Ababa to Nazrēt train€15.191h 27m78 km
Nazrēt to Addis Ababa train€15.191h 25m78 km
Dire Dawa to Jijiga train€19.591h 45m106 km
Jijiga to Dire Dawa train€19.591h 42m106 km
Addis Ababa to Dessie train€34.442h 34m254 km
Dessie to Addis Ababa train€34.442h 35m254 km
Dire Dawa to Djibouti train€41.592h 34m262 km
Djibouti to Dire Dawa train€41.592h 40m262 km
Balbala to Jijiga train€43.242h 49m248 km
Jijiga to Balbala train€43.242h 52m248 km
Djibouti to Jijiga train€44.342h 56m252 km
Jijiga to Djibouti train€44.342h 59m252 km
Balbala to Dire Dawa train€44.893h 8m258 km
Dire Dawa to Balbala train€44.892h 56m258 km
Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa train€45.993h 10m348 km
Dire Dawa to Addis Ababa train€45.993h 14m348 km
Dire Dawa to Nazrēt train€53.693h 13m308 km
Nazrēt to Dire Dawa train€53.693h 26m308 km
Addis Ababa to Jijiga train€58.643h 59m446 km
Jijiga to Addis Ababa train€58.643h 52m446 km
Balbala to Dessie train€65.794h 1m382 km
Dessie to Balbala train€65.794h 3m382 km
Nazrēt to Jijiga train€66.894h 8m398 km
Jijiga to Nazrēt train€68.544h 2m398 km
Addis Ababa to Djibouti train€86.144h 50m559 km
Djibouti to Addis Ababa train€86.144h 40m559 km
Nazrēt to Djibouti train€90.545h 34m543 km
Djibouti to Nazrēt train€91.645h 9m543 km
Balbala to Nazrēt train€92.195h 7m537 km
Nazrēt to Balbala train€92.195h 12m537 km
Balbala to Addis Ababa train€92.745h 23m554 km
Addis Ababa to Balbala train€94.945h 7m554 km

The journey is the easy half to plan. The days in Addis Ababa are the half people leave until last.

A guided tour group

Day trips out of Addis Ababa and across Ethiopia

The tickets worth having in advance, because the queue at the door is usually the whole morning.

Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.

Catchment

How far people travel to get here

Every origin we sell by Trains, grouped by how far it is in a straight line.

Straight line distance from each origin we sell, not the distance the route runs.
DistanceRoutesShareNearest of them
Under 200 km10424%Dire Dawa, 42 km
200 to 600 km33276%Balbala, 248 km
Across the border

Where Ethiopia connects to

Countries reachable from Ethiopia by Trains on a route we sell.

Counted by route, so a country with several cities on the corridor counts once per route rather than once per city.
CountryRoutesShare
Djibouti112100%
Carriers

Train operators

Speed, flexibility and what is on board. Nothing here is a rating, because we have not earned one.

Every operator we sell on this corridor. Speed is the carrier's own typical cruising speed, not the average over this route.
OperatorFromFastestTypical speedFlexibilityOn board
China Railway GroupNoneNone140 km/hRefundablePower sockets, Wi-Fi
  • China Railway Group

Train destinations

Common questions about Trains in Ethiopia

What Trains routes are there in Ethiopia?

We sell 436 Trains routes in Ethiopia, serving 16 places, run by 1 operators. Every one of those routes has an operator that actually serves it, so the count is the network we can sell rather than every pair of places on a map.

How much do Trains tickets in Ethiopia cost?

The cheapest Trains fare in Ethiopia is €15.19 for one passenger, across the 436 routes we sell there. The median route runs 321 km in a straight line, which is the distance that fare should be read against before comparing it to anywhere else.

Can I travel out of Ethiopia by Trains?

112 of the Trains routes we sell touching Ethiopia cross a border and 324 stay inside it, reaching 1 other countries including Djibouti. Cross border routes are usually the ones where the fare and the journey time differ most between operators.

Which operators run Trains services in Ethiopia?

1 operators run Trains services on routes we sell in Ethiopia: China Railway Group. Each is a real carrier from the published operator catalogue, and each has its own fares and conditions. The operator table on this page compares them on speed, flexibility and what is on board.

What is the longest Trains route in Ethiopia?

The longest Trains route we sell touching Ethiopia runs from Djibouti to Sebeta, 578 km in a straight line. The median route in the country is 321 km, so this one is a considerable outlier and the fares on it behave differently from the rest.

Where these numbers come from

Schedules, seat counts and fares are generated by our own model until the supplier contracts are signed. Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance are real. We would rather say that on every page than let a modelled number pass for a filed one.

Defined in full at Catchment, Fares, Distances

Other ways to travel here

The wider region

The journey ends at Addis Abeba train station. Everything past the barriers belongs to somebody else, the rooms included.

A hotel room

A room in Addis Ababa for the night the train gets in

Sort by distance from Addis Abeba train station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.

Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.

Plan with Ori

Ori, the trip planner

Ask it something like this

Trains in Ethiopia · Orlero