Addis-Djibouti Railway Line hits headwinds
Ethiopian Railways: Facing financial and technical Headwinds The four-year-old Addis- Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway line suffers a myriad of operational and financial difficulties that hamper its efficiency and reliability, a recent study says. Other sources complain of frequent stoppages, some taking as long as two weeks to solve. Power outages, the study shows, is a major problem affecting not only its reliability but also its safety. The study, “ Sino-Ethiopia evolving partnership along Addis Ababa-Djibouti, railway economic belt ” identified power outages, poor maintenance, thefts, lack of funds, and accidents as the leading problems. Frequent power cuts disrupted operations including rescue, slope stopping, regression, and are a very serious risk to the train’s safety. The study found out that train lost 48,000 hours of operation arising from more than 8000 power outages since its inception in 2016. Sixty percent of these interruptions lasted up to three