Addis Ababa Light Rail to commence North-South Service on Sunday
Addis Ababa -The much awaited Addis Ababa Light Railway is to commence service partially as of the coming Sunday, head of the Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC) said.
According to Dr. Engineer Getachew Betru, portion of the railway that begins operation is the one that is constructed from North to the South of Addis Ababa, which is 17 kilometers long.
The other part of the railway which stretches from east to west part of the capital will follow soon though the exact time of its start was not specified.
Payment system of the service involves both cash and electromagnetic card. One has to make use of the card when it gets in to and off the rain. The minimum cost of the transport fee is 2 birr for four kilometers long journey while the highest one is six birr to travel from take off to final destination.
The electric power for the railway is directly connected to the main grid of the country and causes no effect on the power supply of the capital.
The city’s railway line has 39 stations. The rail is equipped with 22 lifts and escalators. The corporation has created 600 job opportunities so far.
The railway construction was financed by the government of Ethiopia and the vender financing was from China. Out of the total USD 475 million spent for the rail project, the government financed 15 percent of it.
Source: EBC
