Local Professionals to Take Over Management of Railway

Nov 16 , 2019

The Ethiopia-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway (EDR) will start transferring captaincy to locals from the Chinese by the end of next year. Sixty-five young train drivers from Ethiopia and Djibouti will travel to China to undertake theoretical and technical training. Currently, a consortium of Chinese companies manages all the maintenance, rail captaincy and control operations of the 752Km-long railway that connects Addis Abeba to neighbouring Djibouti. Such transfer of knowledge and expertise will require from one year to a maximum of six years of theoretical and practical training depending on the nature of each task, according to Tilahun Sarka, director general of EDR. Thus far, a total of 600 local professionals have received training related to the normal functioning of the railway system. The railway is currently used to transport freight including perishable goods, vehicles, cereals and fertilizers from the Djibouti port to Addis Abeba.