Something About Company
Ethiopian Railways Corporation (ERC)
Mission : To develop a modern railway infrastructure network and provide rail passenger and freight transport services in the country
Vision : To see a railway infrastructure network that connects development centers and links the country to ports and neighboring countries has been developed and provision of state-of-the-art electric rail transport service has been expanded.
Values :
People : value for employees
Customer :customer satisfaction
Teamwork :keen for change
Innovation : achieve with team spirit
Quality :deliver in quality
Environment :care for the environment
Ethiopia is aggressively working on building an extensive rail network. In response to this and thus understanding the strategic importance of railway infrastructure, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia established the Ethiopian Railways Corporation (ERC) under the Ministry of Transport in 2007 with a mandate to create a modern nationwide railway network, replacing the Franco-Ethiopian railway that is no longer in service. ERC has launched a 656 Kilometers railway network construction project that links the capital city Addis Ababa to the port of Djibouti. This railway expansion project has been completed and inaugurated in October 5, 2016 which is constructed by two Chinese companies, China Railway Group and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.
This infrastructure project is expected to bring about significant improvement in facilitating Ethiopia’s international trade by reducing traders’ logistical cost and time of delivery. The new electric railway under construction would cut transport time from Djibouti to Modjo (a dry port city 70 kilometers away from the capital city, Addis Ababa) from the current 84 hours to just 10 hours. Cargo trains that will be operating on this rail network will have a capacity to carry some 3500 to 4000 tons of freight, with ERC anticipating 6 to 7 million tons of cargo per year in its first year of operation.
The Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit project which has a total of 34 km has been completed and began passenger operation in September 20, 2016 which is highly support the city’s transport. This is a big achievement for ERC.
A 391 km long rail line from Awash to Weldiya/Hara Gebeya and 216km rail line from Weldiya/Hara Gebeya-Mekelle are currently under construction by Turkish company Yapi Merkezi and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) respectively. These rail lines will link the central and eastern parts of the country with northern Ethiopia by connecting to the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway at Awash. Construction on the railway began in February 2015) with completion expected by 2018.
The trains will run on electricity. The railway is expected to have positive effects on the environment and also contribute to social development. For example, diesel-powered road transport is expected to be transferred to railway. The Ethiopian Railway Corporation has plans for several new lines including links to adjacent countries and further afield. ERC will build these in two phases.
