Addis Ababa light train stuck in slow motion – Diplomat

This article is the fifth in a series on the development of railways and industrial parks by Chinese entities in Ethiopia, which began with our analysis Addis Ababa Light Rail (AALRT) and Addis Djibouti Railway in The Diplomat in 2018. Part 3 pvisited the same two projects in 2019; Part 4 describes our visit to Mekelle industrial park in 2020. This time we revisited AALRT, boarded and observed the current state of infrastructure and services in the Ethiopian capital.

The Addis Ababa Light Rail Train (AALRT), the first tram project in Sub-Saharan Africa, was celebrated in 2015 as an exemplary infrastructure development and a pioneering step forward in Africa-China relations. It faces even bigger challenges today than the ones we had in 2018 when we first rode it.

Between our visits, one of Africa’s most progressive economies has been hit by multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and several armed conflicts, the most devastating of which was the two-year war in Tigray. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his government have sought to restructure Ethiopia’s debt to China, while also trying to persuade other international lenders and donors to allow Ethiopia to use the money that was intended to repay several of the country’s loans to fund pandemic response and other projects related to the pandemic. development. Last month, China even announced a partial write-off of Ethiopia’s debt.

The AALRT railroad goes into the distance. Photo by Istvan Tarrosi

Infrastructure projects that needed significant external funding included both the Addis Ababa light rail (tram) and the Addis Djibouti Railway. In our first articles, we highlighted the significant amount of loans from the Export-Import Bank of China, which, in the case of AALRT, provided enough funding to start construction in December 2011.

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AND a critical review article by Bouraima et al. published in the Journal of Transport Geography confirmed our view of the lack of feasibility studies for the projects, which in the case of AALRT led to significant maintenance costs. As Bouraima et al. note that “a poor feasibility study can lead to cost and time overruns of mega-infrastructure and subsequent problems with its operation.” In our follow-up study, we were able to capture some of these issues.

The once impressive tram in Addis Ababa has struggled with many problems. AT May 2022 report, it was stressed that the massive theft had further disrupted the power infrastructure, which was struggling to provide sufficient support to trams running as early as 2018. According to one of our local respondents, a professor of political science at the university, this reveals another aspect of the problem: As long as people do not feel ownership of the infrastructure, they do not consider it a sin to steal “from the state.” The lecturer advocated for further education and efforts to raise public awareness.

The former greatness of AALRT, initially comparable to many metropolitan areas of the world, rather quickly faded due to broken chairs at the stations, uncollected debris along the railway tracks and a significant amount of dirt on the surface of the railway sheds.

Broken bench at AALRT station. Photo by Istvan Tarrosi

We noted in our first article about the tram that in its first 14 months of operation, the system, which was originally designed to move up to 60,000 people per hour, carried an average of 105,000–110,000 passengers per day. We noted power issues in 2018, which have since been joined by the theft and maintenance issues described above.

Although AALRT started with 41 trains on both lineswe now know that the vast majority of them no longer work. According to a recent article, by early 2020, only 17 train cars remained on both routes (the blue north-south line had nine trains and the green east-west line had eight trains). According to our investigation of weekday peak hours, by early 2023 the situation is very similar; slightly better on the blue line and worse on the green line. Traffic disruptions continued in 2022 and 2023, with a further reduction in the number of cars, although the exact number of operating trains was never given by officials. Daily passenger traffic dropped to 56,000..

Istvan Tarrosi

AALRT station, view from afar. Photo by Istvan Tarrosi.

According to Obsie et al., the average waiting time on the green line in 2020 was 12 minutes, and the average waiting time on the blue line was 15 minutes. However, in January 2023, during rush hour, the average waiting time on the Green Line was 19 minutes, with only six trains running on the line, indicating a further reduction in the number of trains. There were 10 trains on the Blue Line, of which one was a double, and the average waiting time was 13 minutes, according to our calculations on the spot.

All of these statistics show that just one extra train reduced waiting times on the Blue Line, and our experience shows that overcrowding has also decreased—much more so than on the Green Line, where the loss of two trains increased waiting times by nearly 60 percent compared to 2020 year.

Steam locomotive at the station. Photo by Istvan Tarrosi

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When looking for causes, we found two potential, likely related problems: problems with overloading the car’s engine and improper maintenance. In the first case, according to research, the traction motors carry a mechanical load in excess of the expected overload capacity of the train. According to this document, one train can accommodate 254 passengers at normal capacity and 317 passengers at seating and standing only when reloaded. However, the operating scenario showed that even under the most adverse traffic conditions, one train can carry up to 60 additional passengers.

The second problem is related to the insufficient import of spare parts and the lack of maintenance specialists. Although we said in our first article in 2018, when full knowledge transfer was planned in three to four years, maintenance remained a problem even after that period. The situation has pushed the Ethiopian Railway Corporation to 2022. extended contracts with two Chinese consultants commissioned to perform such work for light rail transport. Thus, the transfer of knowledge is not yet 100 percent complete. Ethiopian website The Reporter claims $60 million is needed for parts to repair the missing cars. The entire project cost $475 million, so nearly 13 percent of that amount is required to keep the trams running just a few years after the lines opened to the public.

As we noted last month, these problems with mixed trains have meant that single trains cannot accommodate all of the waiting passengers. Waiting passengers can’t always squeeze into the car they want to board, and we’ve found passengers left out of trains due to lack of space, even outside rush hour.

Sometimes, due to crowding, getting on a tram becomes a real physical exercise. Photo by Istvan Tarrosi

This modern technology has become like a minibus, which is still one of the most used vehicles in everyday life. minibus (ie. matatu in Kenya or gave gave in Tanzania), which in many cases is an old Toyota HiAce, originally designed for 12 seats, often carrying 18-20 people.

The majority of tram passengers, like minibus passengers, are forced to wait in long queues for their turn to board. While there are far fewer trains running than the demand and number of potential passengers, combined with the fact that travel times are quite slow, in many cases, especially during rush hour, cramming onto a train is physically strenuous. . We ourselves have not been successful in several cases.

After landing, it can take an hour or an hour and a half to get to the Ayat junction along a 10-kilometer road, as our other local respondent, a taxi driver, told us.

Addis has taken several promising steps to improve traffic management, including traffic lights, signs and special color change lights installed at many of the busiest interchanges. Such equipment is also installed near tram stops, but, according to our observations, it often does not work. As we wrote in our first part of the series, it is sometimes dangerous to cross the road to get to the station. Visible pedestrian crossings and functioning traffic lights would help a lot.

In general, if AALRT worked properly in terms of frequency and predictability, it would help local transport needs. In addition, it is much cheaper than any other mode of transport. However, the fact that it doesn’t work properly leaves Addis not only with annoyed passengers, but also with a company that is losing money. In addition, such investments create a significant burden on urban transport, taking away space from minibuses and taxis.