FCE Railway Station

Terminus of the famous narrow-gauge railway to Manakara on the east coast

The station is the starting point for one of Madagascar's most memorable journeys: the FCE narrow-gauge railway that descends through the eastern escarpment to Manakara on the Indian Ocean. The station building itself is a faded but charming French colonial structure, painted in the original cream and brown.

Departures are infrequent — typically two or three per week — and schedules slip routinely, so ask locally before counting on a connection. Buy tickets the day before you intend to travel; second-class fills up first because that's where the chickens, sacks of rice, and conversation live.

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The FCE (Fianarantsoa–Côte Est) line was built between 1926 and 1936 by the French colonial administration to carry coffee and rice to the coast. It still does, although the rolling stock dates mostly from the same era — and replacement parts are now scavenged from sister lines abandoned long ago elsewhere in Africa.

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