Ethiopia has achieved a major milestone in its efforts to improve public transport in the capital, Addis Ababa, following the commissioning of a modern tramway system.
The electrified Addis Ababa light rail transit system is the first light railway in sub-Saharan Africa and is already attracting attention from neighbouring countries, such as Kenya and Tanzania.
“This is very modern light railway, which will be serving the capital city of Ethiopia and . . . of Africa. So, we are very proud of that,” says Ethiopian Transport Minister Workneh Gebeyehu.
Constructed at a cost of $475-million by China Railway Engineering Corporation, the system consists of two lines covering a length of 34 km. It includes 39 stations and a network of alleyways.
China’s Export-Import Bank provided 85% of the funding, while the Ethiopian government put up the balance.
The rail tramcars rely on power supplied mainly from overhead wires. The system will have its own dedicated grid – including four substations – supplying 160 MW of power.
With each train capable of carrying 300 passengers at a time, the light railway system will have the capacity to transport 60 000 passengers a day across Addis Ababa.
The commissioning of the tramway, which took three years to construct, is a significant step for Ethiopia in addressing the transport challenges facing its capital, which has a population of about six-million people.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Addis Ababa is one of the world’s fastest-growing metropolises, with its population expanding at 3.8% a year.
Public transport is largely by means of informal minibuses, which are popularly referred as ‘blue donkeys’.