today-and-tomorrow-news

[today-and-tomorrow-news]

Egypt’s railway system is about to change significantly

(Photo: Simens AG)

Egypt’s rail network has more than 5000 kilometres of rail tracks and is therefore one of the largests in Africa. The first line was built in the 1850s so its the oldest network as well.

The network is used to shift about 6.5 million tonnes of fright each year and about 1.2 million people use the trains every single day.

In the year 2021 there have been multiple incidents which lead to many deaths and injuries. This is because of several reasons but the main ones are bad maintance of the tracks, trains and wagons that are way too old and a very low investment. Because of that Egypt’s rail network is now getting a complete overhaul.

The first phase of the plan will include a high-speed electrified rail line between Marsa Matrouh and Ain Sokhna, which will create more than 15,000 new jobs and transport about 30 million people per year . It will pass trough the greater Cairo region and has a total network length of 621 kilometres.

The second phase of the plan will expand the total length of the network to 1,800 kilometres, connecting the cities of Hurghada, Safaga, El Alamein, Aswan, as well as the new Adminastrative Capitol.

The German firm Simens will provide trains, signalling and general infrastructure such as power supply systems and it will also maintenance the network for around 15 years from now.

The completion of the first phase is scedueld for the year 2027 and the total cost of the project  is set to be about $23BN