Ethio-Djibouti Railway Resumes Services After Power Outage
The Ethio-Djibouti Railway suspended services due to damaged transmission towers near Awash Sebat Kilo but has now resumed operations after power was restored. The outage, caused by power theft, affected multiple cities in eastern Ethiopia before repairs were completed.
The Ethio-Djibouti Railway has informed Tikvah Ethiopia that services were suspended starting last Thursday due to damage to high-voltage transmission towers near Awash Sebat Kilo in the Afar region, which caused a power outage.
Daniel Hailemichael, Chief Engineering Officer of the Ethio-Djibouti Railway, stated that both passenger and freight train services had been halted since 6:00 PM on March 19, 2025., following the power disruption.
Daniel explained, "Our stations from Awash to Djibouti were unable to receive power."
When asked about the extent of the service disruption, Daniel responded:
"As our railway operates on electric power, we stop near the substation during outages. If a train hasn't reached the station, we use diesel generators to tow it with locomotives. That's what we did this time as well. Under normal circumstances, we handle at least seven trains daily. However, since Thursday night, all services were suspended due to the power outage, causing inconveniences for our customers."
Daniel confirmed that power was restored last night, and services have now resumed.
The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation reconnected the interrupted supply, enabling the railway to announce, "We have resumed our regular services."
Earlier, Ethiopian Electric Power had reported that power theft from three steel transmission towers along the high-voltage line between Koka and Hurso near Awash Sebat Kilo town caused outages in Dire Dawa, Harar, Jigjiga, and other eastern Ethiopian cities.
However, Ethiopian Electric Power announced last evening that it had repaired the 230 kV steel towers along the Koka-Hurso line and successfully restored power to eastern Ethiopia.
