Research by the World Bank in many African countries has indicated that the lack of mobility has devastating consequences. It is not only limiting economic growth in the continent, but is also an alarming challenge that may get worse with the population in Africa is expected to double by 2040 to about 1 billion people.
Ethiopia too is not immune from such a trying scenario. The ever increasing population of the capital, Addis Ababa, has been posing an ever increasing demand for transport services. And this in turn demanded efficient traffic management system. As more and more people are squeezing into the capital looking for employment.
The hustle and bustle especially during rush hours was characterized by congested traffic and time consuming commuting in almost all corners of the capital. Despite the city administration’s zeal to fill the gap via various schemes the situation has remained almost unabated. The Addis Ababa Light Railway Transport (AALRT) is one of the main components of the scheme to address transport woes in Addis.
The 31.25 Kilometers long project that commenced its service in 2015 is the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. There was a high elation with its inception as the dwellers hoped that it will get them rid of transportation problems that they faced for years. But, questions are raised in relation to whether the AALRT has addressed the problem to the level expected. It was constructed in line with the city’s master plan and the service is easily accessible.
It is adequately designed and experiences were drawn from other model practitioners in the industry. Nonetheless, the transport mess that has been worsening before the inception of the light railway service has been a challenging context itself to start up such a new undertaking in such densely populated city. Addis Ababa City Transport Management Office, Solomon Zegeye in an interview with the SPIEGEL ONLINE, said that it is a huge investment that can transport people in the city to longer distances in short time for many decades to come. According to him, since the brand-new light rail system was christened in the capital two and half years ago, on average, about 150,000 commuters are being transported daily.
The light rail undertaking, though expensive, is also necessary for cities like Addis Ababa where there is an ever growing need for mobility. All functions within the budding company, from the tram driver to the director, are double staffed with Ethiopians and the Chinese Counterparts for three years. This provides Ethiopians, who are not acquainted to the transport system, to consult the Chinese when facing problems. Such a knowledge transfer opportunity also lays foundations for further development of the system with domestic capacity in the future.
The trams that have been traversing the city from 6:00 AM in the morning to 10:00 PM in the evening are getting high demand due to mainly the affordable costs and their accessibility to dwellers in the outskirts of the city. The rail travel price is the cheapest that the least ticket price is 2 Birr, the equivalent of 6 Euro cents. This makes it even affordable to low income workers who live in areas far away from the center of the city due to expensive rent payments for housing. Many community members of the middle income also use the railway transportation to travel anytime to places that the rail transport service passes through. Some commuters whom this writer approached for comments on the service say that the opening of the light rail system has improved mobility in the city in two main ways.
People are now moving more often in the city with less time on the road. It is also affecting the job market positively as more people are flocking easily to the city center every morning through the service. “Previously it took me more than five hours to reach Piazza from Kaliti, but now I can reach within an hour. So it has helped me to arrive for work on time” said Desalegn Gashu, who works with a construction company. “These trams have helped me to ride to my job with affordable cost, which is far lower as compared to the taxis,” he added.
Mare Shitu, another commuter who often rides the trams to her job, says the trams are arriving with more predictable schedule period as compared to previous times. The Addis Ababa LRT covers the East-West and North-South transport corridors. The East-West corridor passes through the city centre from the eastern peripheries of the city to the west. In its final phase, the EastWest corridor will connect suburban towns from the Oromia State such as Legetafo in the East and Sebeta in the West.
Major residential and real estate development locations at Ayat, CMC, Gurdshola and the area west of Torhailoch are accessed through this route. Meskel Square is the major public gathering location in Addis Ababa and Meganagna Square is an important transit hub and commercial centre. In its final phase, it is proposed that the LRT route will connect to the future national railway hubs at Legetafo and Sebeta.
The North-South corridor is a heavily-used route; it is utilized to access Africa’s largest open market at Merkato. The initial phase of the project starts from Giorgis (Piazza) in the north and heads a little distance to the west to access Merkato and Autobus Tera (the Intercity Bus Terminal). Afterwards, the route heads south until it joins the East-West route at Lideta. From Lideta to Meskel Square both services have a common route until the North-South route divides to the south heading to the new Gotera interchange, Saris and Kaliti. The northern route is scheduled to be extended further to Shiromeda in the near future.
Thus, a total of 39 rail stations are available for the two lots (E-W and N-S), all having a major interchange at Lideta, Tegbared, Mexico, Legar, and Stadium station. According to a research conducted on the LRT by Abdelmalik Mohammed in 2017, to assess its performance based on sustainability variables, taking trip by Anbessa bus and Midi-bus would take longer time compared to LRT and Mini-bus both on peak hour and off peak hour.
The researcher found out that LRT saves 50 minutes compared to Anbessa bus, 47 minutes compared Midi-bus and 12 minutes compared to Mini-bus during off peak hours. Needless to say, transport systems such as the LRT are globally preferred due to their compatibility in the global effort to prevent climate change and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
General Manager of the AALRT, Muluken Asefa, says that the transport system is operated via a modern and interlocked signaling system. This system is in turn connected to the operation control center. The system is also backed by automatic train supervision and protection services. The headway time for peak hours and off peak hours is 12 minutes and 15 minutes respectively. The timetable is connected to the signaling system so as to dispatch the operation automatically from the central control station. This enables commuters to arrive according to this schedule and saves them from futile waiting.
According to Muluken the rolling stocks or trains that are being driven are equipped modern technologies and software systems. Each single train, with a length of 29 meters, is produced in tandem with the International Light Rail Transit Design. “Since the minimum number of passengers on the line is 275, it is not advisable to increase the length of the rolling stocks as this makes the service inefficient due to the distance between the stations,” he explained. The single operated train currently can transport 317 commuters in a single trip while the double one carries up to 634 people.
The CRRC, Chinese giant and globally renowned manufacturer of trains, is the manufacturer of trains that are being operated in Ethiopia. In 2016, this company has a 48% global market share as the leading supplier of trains in many corners of the world including North America and Europe. The General Manager also says that the country decided to undertake the LRT after close scrutiny of its feasibility as compared to the two other options, tram and metro railway systems, in accordance with the evergrowing need for transportation in the capital and the country’s economic capacity to afford other options.
The poor traffic management in the town has compelled the LRT to be fenced from possible trace pass of pedestrians and road vehicles. Even while under such a protected fence, it has faced more than 230 vehicles crashing into the railway line and damaging the infrastructure in many areas. Muluken said that, after consulting with the city’s traffic management and administration, his office is currently undertaking feasibility study to construct 15 bridges that can enable cars and pedestrians to cross roads and ease the current traffic congestion in some areas.
The expansion LRT to other areas of the city’s outskirts is designed in such a way that can avoid such interferences from vehicles and pedestrians. Though finalization the 22 elevators and 12 escalators that were included in the system to help people with disabilities and others easily use the transport, it is now finalized and fully operational. The LRT is run through power supply from the national grid of the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO).
However, this transport service has been repeatedly interrupted due to power shade off from the grid, especially during its first few months of commencement. The General Manager indicated that the problem is now minimized as a result of improving situations from the supply side. Failure of insulation of cables being used in the system also has contributed its share to the challenge. In a nutshell, the Addis Ababa light railway transport service is connecting thousands of employees and employers and others everyday while operating amid various challenges.
The LRT is contributing its significant share in addressing the alarming demand for transportation in the city especially via connecting the center with the peripheries that were never connected before.
The Ethiopian Herald January 25/2019
By Abraham D
