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Ethiopia, Tanzania electric trains to speed up cargo movement

An Ethiopian Railways electric train. The Ethio-Djibouti standard gauge railway project boasts of more than 30 electrical locomotives. PHOTO | AFP

By  Allan Olingo

Nation Media Group

Ethiopia and Tanzania have raised the stakes in the competition for cargo business in the region by introducing electric trains.

While Kenya’s diesel-powered cargo train took its maiden trip on the standard gauge railway to Nairobi from the port of Mombasa carrying 216 containers on January 1, Ethiopia inaugurated its 756km $4 billion electrified rail connecting Addis Ababa to Djibouti.

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