The Ethiopian Railway (ERC) has started passenger services on Addis Ababa Line 1, the first modern urban commuter rail service in the country and sub-Saharan Africa.
The $470m Addis light rail project, which opened following several months of test running, has been built over three years.
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The 39-station railway project was undertaken by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Company (CREEC), and was 85% funded by the Export-Import Bank of China.
Construction of the 31km South-North and East-West railway lines was completed in January, and since then it has been under testing.
The first route to open under the project is the 16.9km north-south Blue line that connects Minelik Square with Kality with 23 stations in between.
The 17.4km east-west line from Ayat to Tor Hailoch with around 16 stations, is scheduled to be opened next month.
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By GlobalDataThe two lines have a common 2.7km section in the city centre between Lideta and Meskel Square.
Ethiopia’s Transport Minister Workneh Gebeyehu was quoted by AFP as saying: "This is a sign of modernity. This is a very modern train that will serve the capital city of Africa.
"The light rail is not for commercial purposes. Tickets are very cheap. It will serve the people with low income."
China Railway Rolling Stock (CRRC) subsidiary CNR Changchun has provided a fleet of 41 three-section 70% low-floor vehicles, to be operated on the entire project at a maximum speed of 80km/h.
The light rail system, with a capacity to carry 60,000 passengers an hour, will be maintained by CREEC and Shenzhen Metro Group under a $116m five-year contract awarded by ERC last year.
Huawei has supplied its eLTE urban communication system with a three-dimensional network infrastructure. The subsystems will offer multi-service bearing, surveillance, data storage and electrified communications.
The communication system includes multiple technologies, such as fixed network, eLTE wireless network, IP telephony and high-definition video surveillance.
Huawei’s wireless network subsystem uses ultra-broadband technology to support wireless dispatching, unified transmission of ticketing traffic and other traffic, as well as provides internet and train-to-ground wireless communications platform.
Image: The South-North and East-West railway lines have a common 2.7km section in the city centre between Lideta and Meskel Square. Photo: courtesy of Huawei Technologies.
