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)||
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 Ethiopia's national capital of Addis Ababa with Djibouti City and the Port of Doraleh 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. Trial service began on the railway in October 2016, and regular services are expected to begin in 2017. The railway has reduced cargo transit times from three days by road to twelve hours by train.
The railway replaces the abandoned Ethio-Djibouti Railway, a metre-gauge railway that was originally built by the French between 1894 and 1917. The new line was built from 2011–2016 at a cost of US$4 billion by two Chinese state-owned enterprises, the China Railway Group (CREC) and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. The two companies have also formed a consortium to operate the railway for the first 3–5 years.
The Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway runs parallel to the abandoned metre-gauge Ethio–Djibouti Railway for most of its length. 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.
The railway begins in Sebeta, just outside of Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian capital is served by two stations located in the outskirts of the city, at Furi-Labu and Kaliti. Both stations are at a distance of about 10 km from the southern end of the Addis Ababa Light Rail, which gives access to the city centre.