For 1st time ever in Egypt: 3rd-class air-conditioned trains to enter service in Feb. 2022

CAIRO – 7 February 2022: The Egyptian Railways Authority (ERA) announced Monday that the third-class air-conditioned trains will officially enter service by the end of February.

The first-of-its-kind service has begun pilot operation in January on the Cairo-Luxor line. That is after the arrival of several batches of Transmasholding railcars making the total delivered 500 out of 1,300.

The authority noted that the price of the Cairo-Aswan ticket will be LE125 ($7.8).

A contract worth €1 billion was signed with Transmashholding to supply 1,300 railcars. Those include 500 dynamic-ventilation third-class units, 500 air-conditioned third-class units, 180 air-conditioned second-class units, 90 air-conditioned first-class units, and 30 air-conditioned cabooses.

The deal was a must given that only 2,200 passenger railcars out of 3,200 were functional.

As those require well-functioning engines, Minister of Transportation Kamel al-Wazir stated in April that LE53 billion were allocated to the purchase of new train engines, and the rehabilitation of 400 out of the 800 existing ones.

The ministry signed a contract worth $602 million with General Electric to acquire 110 new train engines and rehabilitate 81 others. The company would also supply spare parts and carry out maintenance for 15 years. The 110 new train engines have been supplied and 21 existing ones have been rehabilitated.

Another contract was signed with ProgressRail for it to supply 50 train engines, upgrade 50 existing ones, and rehabilitate 41 others. A maintenance contract worth $466.1 million was signed with the same company to maintain those 141 engines over 15 years. The company has supplied 16 train engines, and 134 tractor engines, and rehabilitated 30 others. The ministry will also invite tenders soon to acquire 100 train engines with a fund worth €290 million offered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Another contract worth €157 million was signed with Talgo to supply six trains along with engines and carry out maintenance for seven years.