Buying a Train Ticket on Ethiopia’s New SGR Is Not as Easy You Might Imagine

Journalist Ismail Einashe tried to buy a ticket on the new Chinese-funded/built standard gauge railway (SGR) in Ethiopia to travel from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa. In nearby Kenya, buying on their SGR is a pretty straightforward transaction, as it should be. Not in Ethiopia, though, according to Einashe’s experience.

There’s no online service, which is more difficult lately given the regular politically-motivated internet outages, no phone reservation system and even at the train station itself it’s not possible.

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by Eric Olander

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