On 5 October, Ethiopia and Djibouti launched the first fully electrified cross-border railway line in Africa. The new 750km line will link Addis Ababa to the sea in 10 hours, compared to several days by road. During the construction, nearly 40,000 local jobs have been created, and many of those have gained valuable skills and technics to operate sophisticated railroad machines. The railway is the first step in a vast 5,000km-long network of rail which Ethiopia hopes to build by 2020, connecting it to Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan.
