Ethiopia restores rail network
30th August 2009
Simon Harding
Ethiopia’s aging railway network is set to undergo a large-scale restoration project overseen by the national government with EU support, writes Elizabeth Blunt for the BBC. The network was built by the French in the early 1900s as a gift for the Emperor Menelik, but has since fallen into a state of disrepair with rusting rails and slowly disintegrating bridges severely limiting the speed and volume of rail traffic.
For years the Ethiopian government poured resources into the national road network only to have highway access to its Red Sea ports cut-off when Eritrea gained independence in the early 1990s. The crumbling rail link between Ethiopia’s cities and the ports of neighbouring Djibouti subsequently became increasingly important for international trade.
When it is completed in 2010, the renovated stretches of the network will be able to handle more trains travelling at faster speeds. Powered by cheap electricity, generated by bold new hydro-electricity projects, national rail manager, To’om Terie, believes that the revamped network will soon be in profit.
The current scheme involves just a fraction of Ethiopia’s network and is focused on the transport links necessary for international trade. However, expansion is anticipated with potential new routes serving the coffee producing western regions, light industry in the north, commercial farming areas south of the capital and potentially profitable, but as yet uncultivated, farmland near the Sudanese border.
Getachew Betru, the man in charge of the project, claims restoring Ethiopia’s railways is ‘pro-poor’. Indeed, an extensive, affordable and reliable railway is of more use to poor Ethiopians than the pristine highways used mostly by government officials, tourists and aid workers. Rail travel also benefits small scale rural entrepreneurs by enabling them to transport small quantities of farm products to towns and cities quickly and cheaply. Improved mobility also allows people in rural areas to move in search of work and to commute efficiently, which not only provides non-farm income in a time of increasing environmental and agricultural uncertainty, but also raises start-up capital for small scale rural businesses.
To ensure that the benefits of Ethiopia’s rejuvenated railways reach ordinary people in rural areas, the network must cover the entire country. If necessary it must receive substantial state support to do so, as is the case with the world’s largest and most heavily used rail network: Indian Railways. Further international backing may be needed. Ethiopia’s railways must do more than link wealthy urban areas. The network should aim to reach deep into rural regions. Transport links must be seen as a potential facilitator of business and economic development, rather than a consequence.
See also: ‘Ethiopia looks to revive past railway glories’, Elizabeth Blunt, BBC Ethiopia, 22/6/09. Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8110012.stm