While it may not be HSR, it certainly is a lot for a country that currently has only one railway line.


Ethiopia launches construction of massive railway network

Sunday 26 September 2010 printSend this article by mail Send

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

September 25, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) - Ethiopia has launched the construction of a 5,000 Km railway complex which is aims to link the capital, Addis Ababa, to various regions of the country, Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC) disclosed on Friday.

Officially launching the major railroad project, stretching out in eight directions across the country, Getachew Betru, Director General of ERC, said that the project which will be constructed in two phases.

The first phase of construction will be the construction of five railway tracks, which will create job opportunities for over 300,000 citizens nationwide, and will cost the nation an estimated 6 billion Birr (US$336 million) annually. In addition, the Addis Ababa light train project will open employment opportunity to 5,000 citizens.

Up on completion, the railway system - to replace the limited train transport service in the country – will boost the country’s trade flow, says ERC Board Chairman, Hailemariam Desalegn.

“The new railway network would help a timely stream of goods across the nation and the swift transaction will help traders save time, energy and also it will reduce transport costs,” Desalegn said.

He added that, when functional, the railway system would, “enable the nation to transport 6 million tones of freight which in the past has only been impossible by truck.”

This kind of rail network is designed for speedier passenger transport of between 120km an hour and 160km an hour. Goods or freight engines move on the standard line at between 100km an hour to 120km an hour.

The corporation said that 18 Ethiopian consultant groups and CRGC, a Chinese company, will take part in the construction of the railway project.
It is not yet clear if the project expenses will fully be covered by the Ethiopian government coffers, however sources said that the project has long been on the books.

In May this year, China has granted Ethiopia a loan of more than US$100 million to help to pay for the construction of the railway line.
Ethiopia expects to be classified by the World Bank as lower middle income level by 2015 under the recently launched development and transformation plan (GTP) [www.sudantribune.com/spip.ph...] – a new strategy aimed to create an ambitious 15% growth in the Ethiopian economy over the next five years.

The Railway project is part of the country’s five-year transformation plan, designed by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government along with the unpredicted expansion of infrastructure, and a boost to 10,000MW of country’s power production from the current, which stands at about 2,000MW.

A couple of schematics.

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/8638/railway.png
First phase, by 2015.

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/1827/railway2.png
Second phase, by 2020.

http://www.waltainfo.com/resource/eth_railway.jpg
The logo of the Ethiopian Railway Corporation. Wether this is something closed to a train on the network or just wishful thinking eludes me.

Did I mention it's being built by China? :lol:

Grand designs from Ethiopian Railway Corp
11 September 2009

ETHIOPIA: Dr Getachew Betru is a man with a vision. As Director of the Ethiopian Railway Corp, he has been charged by the country’s government with planning and developing a 5 000 km standard-gauge rail network over the next seven years.

Through his business at GBA Consultancy, Dr Betru has long been campaigning to improve Ethiopia’s railways, as we reported five years ago (RG 3.04 p126). Whilst there is still not much evidence on the ground, his efforts did result in the appointment in May 2007 of a technical advisory group to prepare ‘an indicative framework on national railway development’.

This in turn led to establishment of ERC in November 2007 as a subsidiary of the Ministry of Transport & Communications. With a paid-up capital of US$750m, ERC was given the remit to design and build both a national railway and an urban light rail network in Addis Abeba.

The national network is intended to support Ethiopia’s agricultural sector, handling export grain and livestock as well as providing ‘high speed, high capacity, competitive and affordable’ transport for passengers. The railway would be electrified throughout and powered from hydroelectric resources - the indefatigable Dr Betru is also a board member at the Ethiopian Electric Power Corp.

With limited resources and expertise of its own, ERC is dependent on external assistance, so it is not surprising to hear that a steady stream of consultants and contractors has been knocking on Dr Betru’s door. Amongst the latest to express interest is India’s Overseas Investment Alliance, which has been supplying electrical transmission and distribution systems to EEPCo under a 2006 agreement worth US$65m. OIA also signed an agreement in May with the government of Djibouti to undertake feasibility studies for a standard-gauge link into the region’s main port.

Meanwhile, work is underway to revitalise the 781 km metre-gauge Djibouti-Ethiopian Railway. Services on the western end of the route to Addis Abeba have been suspended, so that Costa of Italy and Ineco-SPT of Spain can press on with an 18-month infrastructure renewal programme funded by a €50m grant from the European Union. According to CDE General Manager, To’om Terie, this should allow the line to carry around 10 trains per day.

Work is currently in progress around Metahara, where embankments are being strengthened and new bridges built. Around 25 000 concrete sleepers are being laid to replace steel, and the remaining 20 kg/m rail is being replaced by 40 kg/m on about a third of the route. However, the project is reportedly running three months behind schedule after claims that some of the track alignments had been miscalculated.

But the urgency of the upgrading has been emphasised by a string of derailments between Dire Dawa and Djibouti, where the trains are still operating, carrying fruit and vegetables, coffee and livestock for export and returning with construction materials. At the end of July a Djibouti-bound freight train carrying 1 000 tonnes of export coffee and livestock left the rails, killing 13 nomads who were apparently riding for free and injuring a further 20 people including the train crew...

Did I mention it's being built by China? :lol:

no need for that, it's obvious!

goog for Ethiopia!

no need for that, it's obvious!

goog for Ethiopia!

Yes, they do seem to be building everyone's railroads these days...

Will keep you folks updated!

any updates?

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