Egyptian National Railways (ENR) plans to roll out a wide-ranging development scheme during the upcoming fiscal year, at an estimated cost of 19.1 billion Egyptian pounds (about $370 million).
The plan aims to upgrade major lines that have been overhauled in more than a quarter of a century, in a move intended to improve safety standards, reduce accidents and boost operational efficiency, a board member at ENR told Al Manassa.
The source, who requested anonymity, said the plan focuses on vital sections that have been in operation for over 25 years, namely the Cairo–Giza–Beni Suef, Nag Hammadi–Luxor, and Luxor–Aswan High Dam lines. Rehabilitating these routes, the source added, has become an urgent necessity to ensure passenger safety and operational efficiency.
According to the source, the project list includes renewing the infrastructure of 70 level crossings, as well as upgrading the air-conditioned carriages that entered service in the first decade of the 2000s, particularly in 2008 and 2009, as part of a plan to modernize the entire train fleet in line with ongoing infrastructure development work.
The authority is counting on these upgrades to expand capacity and improve the regularity of services, as well as to cut journey times between governorates in Lower and Upper Egypt, the source said.
The project list for the upcoming fiscal year also includes upgrading several stations along these lines, some of them already part of the second phase of the Decent Life initiative, Egypt’s flagship rural development program.
These large-scale investments come as the railway authority faces severe safety challenges. Despite signalling upgrades beginning in 2016 and the completion of the first phase in 2021, official data show a sharp rise in serious accidents.
Figures from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) put the number at 289 in 2020, rising to 672 in 2023 and reaching 752 in 2024, according to the agency’s train accident bulletin.
A serious accident is defined as one that causes at least one death, leaves five people with severe injuries, or causes damage to trains, infrastructure or the environment exceeding 2 million pounds.
Egypt’s rail network spans more than 9,570 km, serving 23 governorates and carrying nearly 420 million passengers a year through about 3,040 passenger cars, including 850 air-conditioned ones, 8,553 freight cars and 793 locomotives.
