Railway plans on track

In the wake of a tragic train accident at the beginning of 2013, Egypt is looking to step up investment in its railways to improve safety, and upgrade infrastructure and rolling stock. Plans for the development of new tracks are also being implemented with international support.

The government may look to spend up to LE45bn ($6.68bn) on upgrading the national railway network, according to Mohamed Sadek Sherbini, chairman of the transport committee of the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, the regional press reported on January 16. Sherbini said LE15bn ($2.23bn) could be invested in safety equipment and automatic controls to reduce the risk of human error, and a further LE30bn ($4.46bn) for “renewal and development”, including new trains and the development of routes, particularly in Upper Egypt.

Sherbini was speaking after 19 soldiers were killed and more than 120 injured when a train travelling from Upper Egypt to Cairo derailed at the Badrashin station in Giza, a suburb of the capital. At the time of publishing, investigators were still trying to discover what caused the accident, but such events are not uncommon on Egypt’s extensive but poorly maintained rail system.

A recent report by the Ministry of Transportation suggested there are around 550 railway accidents each year. While the vast majority of these are minor, many people have been wounded or killed in recent years. A collision between a train and a school bus, which left 50 people dead in 2012, led to the resignation of the then-transport minister.

His replacement, Hatem Abdel Latif, was appointed by President Mohammed Morsy on January 9 with a specific brief to improve rail safety. The president has asked Latif to draw up a long-term plan for managing the railway sector. One of the minister’s first moves was to sign a deal for buying 221 new carriages; he says that 80-85% of the 3300 carriages currently owned by Egyptian National Railways (ENR) are past their life expectancy.