Ethio-Djibouti railway announces passengers, freight tariffs

Addis Ababa, January 1, 2018 (FBC) – The Ethio-Djibouti railway line today announced passengers and freight tariff
According to Engineer Tilahun Farka, director general of Ethio-Djibouti Railway Transport Share Company, the tariff for passengers is 0.68 birr per kilometer.

Thus, the fare for Addis Ababa –Adama on a seat is 68 birr. Travelers on sleeper classes will pay 91 birr for the upper bed, 125 birr for the middle bed and 137 birr for the lower bed.

The tariff from Addis Ababa-Djibouti on a seat is 503 birr, while travelers on sleeper classes will pay 671 birr for the upper, 922 birr for the middle and 1,006 birr for the lower beds.

According to him, those who will travel from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa will pay 308 birr for a seat, 410 birr for upper bed, 564 birr for middle and 618 for lower beds.

Those who will travel from Addis Ababa to Djibouti using special classes are expected to pay 1,258 birr for the upper bed and 1, 341 for the lower bed.

The Company also announced freight rates. Hence, the charge for a tonne of goods is 22.5 birr per a kilometer.

Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway line made the announcement today during an event organized to officially declare the commencement of commercial operation.

The launching ceremony was attended by high level government officials, including ambassadors of China and Djibouti.

Dr Berhanu Beshah, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Railways Corporation, said the railway, Ethiopia’s national flagship project, could be a model for modern transport industry.

Ambassador of China to Ethiopia, Tan Jian, for his part said the line would assist the efforts being made to easily transport from port various materials which could be used as inputs for Ethiopia’s industrial parks.

Ahmed Shide, Ethiopia’s Minister of Transport, said the project is a big success in the history of Ethiopia’s and Africa’s transport sectors.

The railway has officially launched freight transport service today and is also set to start its passengers transport service next Wednesday from Ethiopia to Djibouti.

Delayed by one year than expected, the Ethio-Djibouti railway is believed to facilitate trade between Ethiopia and Djibouti as well as China and Africa.

The railway line has been conducting test run for the past one year. Recently, it has obtained operating certificate from China Association of Railway Engineering Construction.

The Ethiopia-Djibouti project was constructed with a total investment of 3.4 billion US dollars and is the first modern electrified railway line in East Africa.

The project is jointly owned by the governments of Ethiopia and Djibouti and constructed by China Railway Group and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

The line was formally inaugurated in October 2016.