THE Ethiopia-Djibouti railway, which runs from Addis Ababa to the port in Djibouti City, recorded $US 86.13m in revenue in 2021, a 37.5% increase on 2020. The line was used by 449 passenger trains and 1469 freight trains over the year, transporting 77,357 TEUs.

The company also improved the efficiency of operation, with the time to process a freight train at the Port of Doraleh in Djibouti reduced from three days to one-and-a-half days, while the loading and unloading time at the dry port of Modjo was reduced from 12 to seven hours.

Safety improved with no accidents recorded in 2021. Ethiopia’s Somali Region, the largest region through which the Yaji Railway passes, also implemented the Regulation on Railway Safety Protection on August 25 2021.

The railway carried 96 special trains of fertilizer and 13 special trains of wheat into Ethiopia, with the line targeting new markets such as cooking oil, small cars and chilled fruits and vegetables.

To improve the localisation of operation, 34 Ethiopian locomotive drivers were awarded their certificates on May 4 2021, followed by 15 shunter drivers on July 29.

The 752km electrified line opened in October 2016, with the $US 3.4bn project 70% financed by China’s Exim Bank and built by China Railway Group and China Civil Engineering Construction.

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