Chinese-built Ethiopia-Djibouti railway opens, shortens 7-day drive time to 10 hours - TomoNews
- 8 years ago
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — The Chinese-built railway Ethiopia-Djibouti railway officially opened on Wednesday, marking the latest instance of the Sino-African cooperation.
The 750-km railway links the Red Sea port of Djibouti to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. According to Xinhua, it is Africa’s first electric railway. The trains are powered by overhead wires.
The train can travel at a top speed of 120 km per hour, which is much slower than other high-speed trains in the world. Nonetheless, the railway is expected to reduce a drive time of seven days between the two places to just 10 hours.
According to Xinhua, the railway will be managed by a consortium of Chinese companies for about six years until Ethiopians are trained enough to take over. The Chinese management aims to create new jobs for Ethiopia and Djibouti.
The 750-km railway links the Red Sea port of Djibouti to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. According to Xinhua, it is Africa’s first electric railway. The trains are powered by overhead wires.
The train can travel at a top speed of 120 km per hour, which is much slower than other high-speed trains in the world. Nonetheless, the railway is expected to reduce a drive time of seven days between the two places to just 10 hours.
According to Xinhua, the railway will be managed by a consortium of Chinese companies for about six years until Ethiopians are trained enough to take over. The Chinese management aims to create new jobs for Ethiopia and Djibouti.