Ethiopia's Light Rail Has Promise - And Problems 

WHATDOUMEANWHNINAFRICAAAA

As an Ethiopian, the title "Has Promise - And Problems" can perhaps be the best way to describe Addis Ababa and the country as a whole. I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Going out in the streets with Kalkidan's cousins and singing in the group as part of celebrating Buhe is so wholesome! And that's the magic of your channel and going to different places to ride their transit systems, you get to experience magical moments like that and dive right into the cultures of each place! By learning about each system, seeing their strengths, seeing systems change lives, advocating for better systems, actually giving places a chance and thoroughly explore each one, moments like this shows that transit truly connects us all together! Mexico wasn't the only country to not recognize Italy's occupation of Ethiopia! China, New Zealand, the Soviet Union, Spain (the Second Spanish Republic before it fell to Franco), and the United States also didn't! Meskel Square has an interesting history! Previously it was known as Stephen Square (after Saint Stephen; there's an Ethiopian Catholic Church in Vatican City that honors Saint Stephen) before its name was changed to Meskel Square in the early 1950s. Traditionally, the bonfire was lit by the Emperor of Ethiopia accompanied by members of the Imperial Family, the nobility, and high officials of the Orthodox Church and government. The celebration moved to the square built for it under Haile Selassie. Following the Derg ending the monarchy with a revolution in 1974, the square expanded so it could accommodate annual Revolution Day and May Day parades. While Meskel still took place there, in 1988, the atheist government ordered it to be moved out. After the last Derg leader Mengistu Haile Mariam fled Ethiopia in May 1991, General Tesfaye Gebre Kidan restored the original name of Meskel Square, and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front government returned the Meskel celebration to the square.

I don't think it can be overstated just how solid of a start this is for mass transit in Ethiopia. I think this system and the nation as a whole have a very bright future ahead

Awesome hardly nobody talks about Africa 's public transportation, is usually Europe and North America and that's pretty much it.

Addis Ababa also has another unique landmark, the Tiglachin Monument, which honors the Ethiopian and Cuban soldiers that liberated Ogaden from Somalia's invasion during the Cold War. Somalia invaded Ethiopia's Ogaden in July 1977, and thanks to Cuba sending between 12K to 18K Cuban soldiers and airmen, they pushed out the Somalis by March 1978. The monument is unique because it was built by the DPRK at Pyongyang's Mansudae Art Studio! The Mansudae Art Studio has built a lot of stuff for overseas under Mansudae Overseas Projects, especially in Africa, like Namibia's State House, Zimbabwe's National Heroes Acre, Namibia's Independence Memorial Museum, Botswana's Three Dikgosi Monument, as well as Africa's biggest monument, the African Renaissance Monument in Dakar, Senegal which is 52 m tall!

Another interesting African light-rail system is the Metro Express in Mauritius, which runs between Port Louis and the cities outside it in the Plaines Wilhems District, as well as the University of Mauritius's main campus! Yes, the island of Mauritius has light-rail! A great example of a North American light-rail system that goes where people wanna go, has a similar length, and similar daily ridership like Addis Ababa, is the HBLR! The Addis Ababa Light Rail is 19.6 miles/31.6 km while the HBLR is currently (as of June 2024) 17 miles/27.4 km, and the HBLR got a weekday ridership of 51K in 2017 (in Q1 2024, the HBLR had 2,964 weekday riders per mile). Like Addis Ababa, the HBLR has also been a victim of its own success since it was at capacity pre-pandemic. When the HBLR first opened back in 2000, stations like Marin Blvd and Jersey Ave were surrounded by nothing! Today, surrounded by thriving developments! The HBLR goes where people wanna go, whether it's a science museum, university, shopping at the mall, etc! Jersey City has been experiencing a housing boom, and the HBLR has very much played a role in that, with the PATH and the city's bike network and Citi Bike stations complementing it! Not to mention, the city implementing Vision Zero! Jersey City was also the first in New Jersey to implement Vision Zero with an executive order signed by Steven Fulop in 2018, and in 2022, the city realized zero car crash-related fatalities on city-owned streets, the first city of its size in the country to accomplish this! While yes, it is expensive to live in downtown JC, it's also important to note that JC has been building affordable housing units downtown and across the city too, including the new Bayfront TOD complex which will have its own HBLR station. It has become expensive downtown because there’s so much demand for people wanting to move to JC, and it doesn't help that NYC under Eric Adams hasn't been doing their part to solve the housing crisis, and many New Yorkers are now moving to Hudson County.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN IN AFRICA?" Kalkidan asked calmly. Worth mentioning that Menelik II and his wife Taytu Betul also founded Addis Ababa! For some time, Ethiopia lacked a permanent capital, and the royal encampment served as a roving capital. For a time Menelik's camp was on Mount Entoto, and while Menelik II was on campaign in Harar, Empress Taytu Betul camped at a hot spring to the south of Mount Entoto. She decided to build a house there and from 1887 this was her permanent base, which she named Addis Ababa or new flower!

It’s unfortunate that Africa has gone down the path of massive roads with terrible traffic. Especially with most people can’t afford a car. I saw a video a few years back where traffic in a Nigerian city was so bad that it would take a day to get from one side of the city to the other. This is a great start and if they can run trains every 5 mins and get everything fixed I’d be a great first start! Thanks for showing as a transit system we would otherwise not know much about! I assume Kalkidan helped you translate to Amharic.

I think it’s great that this system was designed with its own right-of-way from the get-go. I totally agree that it has really good bones as a transit system!

Amazing to see a video on African transit. I love how you learned some Amharic to communicate with the locals! I can imagine, Kalkidan was very appreciative of you visiting her homeland!

0:33 Love the photobomber

I find the comment at 2:44 funny with the censor. "You're gonna get you're 🐋 stolen"

East africa has had a lot of exciting rail developments happening across the region over the past decade or so. I was recently watching a video about the newly opened tanzania standard guage railway, which opened for passenger travel on the initial part of the line just 6 days ago!! It's an electric mixed freight/passenger rail line which is meant to connect the port city of dar es salaam to the tanzanian interior, as well as landlocked countries/regions such as rwanda, burundi, uganda, and eastern drc.

Crazy how small the trains are like a 30000 people city in Europe Will they add longer trains ?

wow he actually released this

Another absolutely incredible video, Caleb! Really so awesomely comprehensive, and it definitely makes me want to visit Addis Ababa (hopefully with a guide as good as Kalkidan and her parents)

Thanks for sharing this excellent and insightful video. It was interesting to see what the system does well and the challenges it's faced. Hoping Addis Ababa can build out even more higher order transit. I also really like the way you went beyond train/transit nerd stuff and shared insight about the culture and traditions in the city and in Ethiopia.

I think this system would make more sense as a heavy metro, just from seeing how many people use it. Great video! I loved the crunchy grainy nostalgic footage.

You are very dedicated to deliver content. You do a great research and try to pronounce everything. Keep it up 👏

4:47 I love the TRD taxi van 😂 (Toyota Racing Division)

Another good video form you.

Good job! 👏

To think he said in his Ethiopian Rail video that this would come out a week after this....

Great video! Looks like the system is a victim of its own success which is nice to see! Needs more rolling stock and probably battery electric ones for the gaps in power cuz you never know when it could go down... Been there myself!

Off topic: congratulations on your pronunciation of Amharic ejective consonants.

Thanks may brother

You know it’s a good day when Caleb expands the Classy Lore of the Classy Cinematic Universe

I like how their writing system looks. Good that they use it and not Latin or Arabic.

That was awesome!!!

Great video! Just curious. What was the temperature🌡️there in °F and °C?

Nice video! Are there any expansions being planned?

Classy🐳 😃

I like the grainy footage, gives it a 70s vibe. Give it a funk soundtrack, and you've got a whole new film.

I really enjoyed the video. The Addis Ababa light rail is a work in progress. At least the demand is there. Hopefully, some industrialized countries will invest in the system. And dude, whenever you’re traveling internationally you should bring extra cash.

Its sad that its a tad underfunded but I completely agree, the bones of this system are really strong! They mainly need to get the electricity supply, for both the city and the transit system in order, and then the ability to run more services on the existing lines. But they could probably if not order more chinese built trams then buy hand me down ones from other countries. I know some ex-Parisian tram-trains by Siemens are for sale, and they could potentially be a decent fit. But ex-North American LRT equipment might fit even better due to its similar dimensions to the existing rolling stock there. Like if Sacramento, or Denver, or Portland, or heck even Boston try to sell some of their old high floor equipment and its at a low enough price, I believe they could have a great shot at a second life in Ethiopia.

Love seeing above grade light rail lines!! And TOD!!

This is wonderful! Love the presence of a video about transit in Ethiopia!!! But what did he say @4:31???

This seems like a good idea for developing countries because of the low cost. This is similar to the tramway in Casablanca which you rode just this is grade separated

I love your pronunciation 👏 6:56 kelal can be light weight or simple By the way amharic is our working language not a national language.

Dear SEPTA customers, In our ongoing effort to improve safety, we have decided to implement the Ethiopian Railways security procedure. Every customer will undergo a mandatory pat-down when boarding.

Ah the childhood memories of Buhe!

I am wondering if the system has a depot, because i remember reading somewhere that the system has no depot and that's causing a lot of issues. I may be mistaken, so can anyone please confirm this? Very curious!

For anyone who's willing to try the train beware of thieves overcrowding and overheating.

a 3 section low floor tram on an elevated right of way being the first passenger rail system in a rapidly developing city seems absurd to me.

Come try lagos blue rail🇳🇬

WELCOME MATE! NEXT TIME YOU COME IT WILL AGAIN BE MUCH MORE DIFFERENT. DON'T JUDGE THE BEGINNING WAIT FOR THE FINAL LOOK.

Do you think a London like underground tube system could work in addis in the future?

I hope Nigeria is not going to suffer the spare parts issues because they have been gorging on Chinese trains.

There’s a new proposed metro extension. “The-proposed-BRT-corridor-B2-line-in-Addis-Ababa-city”

Still seems pretty impressive despite the problems. I've seen richer countries with worse frequencies and they don't have spare parts issues like this.

Could you come to Australia please?

Looks like IT SHOULD NOT HAVE GRADE CROSSINGS!!!!!! lol they had to learn 😅 murica

Theres actually five national languages of Ethiopia, not just Amharic: Afar, Tigrinya, Afaan Oromo, and Somali are the other four. Not to mention the dozens of other languages spoken such as Sidamo, Wolaytta, Gamo, etc. Not everyone speaks Amharic as a first language even tho it may be the de facto lingua franca in the capital.

what a fucking mess