Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway | |||
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Map showing the new standard gauge line.
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Overview | |||
System | Heavy rail | ||
Status | In trial service | ||
Termini |
Sebeta, Ethiopia Port of Doraleh, Djibouti |
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Operation | |||
Opened | 5 October 2016 10 January 2017 (Djibouti) |
(Ethiopia)||
Operator(s) |
Ethiopian Railway Corporation Société Djiboutienne De Chemin De Fer China Railways |
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Technical | |||
Line length | 756 km (470 mi) | ||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
Electrification | Overhead line 25 kV AC | ||
Operating speed | 160 km/h (99 mph) | ||
Highest elevation | 2,356 m (7,730 ft) | ||
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The Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway is a standard gauge international railway that links Addis Ababa with the port of Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden, providing landlocked Ethiopia with railroad access to the sea. More than 95% of Ethiopia's trade passes through Djibouti, accounting for 70% of the activity at the port of Djibouti. The standard-gauge railway replaces the abandoned Ethio-Djibouti Railway, a metre gauge railway built by the French between 1894 and 1917.
The new line was built between 2011 and 2016 by the China Railway Group and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. Financing for the new line was provided by the Exim Bank of China, the China Development Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. A total of US$4 billion was invested into the railway.
Trial service began in October 2016, and regular services are expected to begin in 2017. The Ethiopian section was inaugurated on 5 October 2016, and the Djibouti section was inaugurated on 10 January 2017. The railway has reduced cargo transit times from 3 days by road to 12 hours by train.
For most of its length, the railway runs parallel to the abandoned metre-gauge Ethio-Djibouti Railway. However, the standard-gauge railway is built on a new, straighter right-of-way that allows for much higher speeds. New stations have been built outside city centres, and the old stations have been decommissioned.
The line is double-track for the first 115 km from Sebeta to Adama, and single-track from Adama to the sea.