The first of the 41 trams Ethiopia ordered from China for the two-line network that is being constructed in Addis Ababa, were revealed on Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at CNR Changchun’s plant in China.

The order for the trams was made in March 2014 and they are due for delivery on January. The shipment is going to be made via Tianjin and Djibouti, for which the trek is estimated to take 50 days.

CNR disclosed the arrival of these trams to Africa, which will be the first Chinese built trams in the Continent, would be a demonstrator for Chinese technology, opening the door to other African markets including proposed light rail lines in Kenya, Congo, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Nigeria.

According to Railway Gazette the three-section 70% low-floor cars have an entrance height of 350 mm and a steel and aluminum body designed to combine strength with lightness. Their design enables them to operate in pairs up to 70 Km/hr.

Putting into consideration the strong sunlight at altitudes of 2 400 meters, the trams have tinted windows designed to filter out 90% of the ultraviolet rays installed upon them and the rubber components and cables are specified to avoid premature ageing.

In order to save energy as well as maintenance cost of air-conditioning, the trams have opening windows installed in consideration of the yearly round temperatures, which is between 6°C and 28°C.

After securing 85 percent of the cost from Export-Import Bank of China, the two lines are being built across the capital city by the China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group. The first one runs from north-south from Menelik Square to Kaliti and covers 17.4 kilometers. On the other hand the second route runs from Ayat to Tor Hailoch covering 17.4 kilometers. The two routes, which are expected to commence service the coming January, share a total of 2.7 Kilometers track.

In addition to supplying the trams, CNR will provide staff training, 50 Ethiopian drivers and maintenance personnel to begin courses on September.

Source: Railway Gazette