88 lawyers referred to trial for causing financial losses at Railway Authority

CAIRO – 9 July 2018: The Ministry of Transportation referred 88 lawyers to disciplinary trial over charges of causing losses of billions of pounds for the Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA).

Minister of Transportation Hisham Arafat agreed to refer the defendants to the disciplinary trial after the Technical Inspection sector at the Ministry of Justice had filed a memorandum to him on the violations committed by the lawyers who work at ERA’s legal affairs.

The investigations referred that the 88 defendants make the authority incur many financial losses as they cooperate with the authority’s opponents as they refrain from submitting documents that prove the rights of the authority in cases filed by the authority or by its opponents.

The lawyers committed these crimes during their tenures in ERA’ legal affairs office from 2013 to 2018. According to the investigations, they did not do their assigned work properly, violated the applicable provisions by not following up the cases filed against the authority and did not provide the necessary documents to defend the authority in these cases.

The investigations mentioned that one of the lawyers resulted in the loss of 30 cases, which caused an actual financial loss for the authority, by not submitting memoranda or documents to defend the authority or appealing to the sentences issued against the authority.

Egypt witnessed many railway accidents, and many Egyptians have lost their lives due to train collisions and derailments. Recently, two passenger trains have collided in Alexandria, killing 41 people and injuring 132 others.

Hence, the Ministry of Transportation implemented a plan to develop railways that included:

1) Signing contracts to purchase 100 railcars with a capacity of 4,250 horsepower, and restore 81 railcars and their spare parts with General Electric (GE), which would provide technical support for 15 years. The contracts are valued at $575 million.

2) SEMAF Railway Factory received 20 electric vehicles at a cost of $179 million.

3) Finishing the restoration of 582 VIP non-air-conditioned railcars in Kom Abou Rady workshops in Beni Suef at a cost of LE 139 million ($7.8 million).

4) Finishing the restoration of 1,326 advanced non-air-conditioned railcars in Abou Zaabal, Tanta, Zagazig and Menya workshops at a cost of LE 92 million.

5) Finishing the restoration of 239 air-conditioned railcars in Kom Abou Rady workshops at a cost of LE 239 million.

6) Twenty-five train stations were restored, which makes a total of 70 restored stations, at a cost of LE 350 million.

7) The number of railroads fully developed, including civil works and control/management systems, is 284. The number of railroads partially developed, including civil works only, is 246, with a cost of LE 900 million.

8) In August, the ministry began transporting containers from Alexandria Port to 6th of October City.

9) The resumption of transporting containers from Sokhna Port to Alexandria Port after two years of suspension.

10) The resumption of transporting containers between the ports of Alexandria and Port Said after three years of suspension.

11) The operation of a freight train between the ports of Damietta and Helwan Industrial City started.

12) In August, the operation of Berket El-Sabea signal box started within the project of automating the signaling system of the Arab Raml/Alex line at cost of €70.5 million ($83.6 million) and LE 310 million.

13) Certain phases in the project of automating the signaling system in the Banha/Zagazig/Kantara/Port Said line were finished at costs of €61.9 million, 8.7 million CHF ($8.8 million), and LE 399.5 million. Certain phases in the automation of the signaling system on the Beni Suef/Asyut line at a cost of €62 million and LE 323 million were also finished.

14) Signing contracts to develop the signaling system of the Asyut/Sohag/Nagaa Hamady line at a value of LE 160 million in November.