Egypt's finance ministry has approved a 1 billion Egyptian pound ($20 million) subsidy for the national railway operator to prevent fare hikes on several passenger lines, according to a board member of the Egyptian National Railways (ENR).
The funding aims to maintain ticket prices for Spanish and Russian air-conditioned trains, as well as short-distance suburban services widely used by low-income commuters.
Last month, Egyptian National Railways raised prices on its luxury Talgo trains, increasing first-class fares on the Cairo-Alexandria route by 27.3% and second-class by about 43%. Cairo-Aswan fares now stand at 900 pounds for first class and 750 pounds for second class.
“The subsidy is meant to stabilize prices for key trains serving working-class passengers, especially the newly refurbished Tahya Misr units and regular Russian cars,” the official told Al Manassa.
They added that the funds will also help offset rising fuel costs, following the government's recent increases in diesel prices. The railway reportedly consumes more than 240 million liters of diesel annually.
The official noted that the finance ministry withheld similar support last year because the railway, having raised ticket prices four times since 2020, was increasingly self-reliant on its revenues.
Since taking office in 2019, Transport Minister Kamel Al-Wazir has overseen multiple fare increases for air-conditioned, Russian, and suburban trains, including the popular Tahya Misr line, starting in July 2020.
The source confirmed there are no plans for further fare hikes this year, noting that the new subsidy will help balance the operator's running costs and expected revenues.
An additional 5.5 billion pounds ($111 million) in phased subsidies will be disbursed later this year to bridge the gap between actual ticket costs and discounted fares provided to students, people with disabilities, injured protesters, and families of those killed during the revolution. These subsidies fall under Egypt's broader social protection programs.
Egypt's national railway network spans over 9,570 km across 23 governorates, transporting about 420 million passengers annually using more than 3,000 passenger cars and 793 locomotives.
