Railway needs LE 55B to execute development projects

CAIRO – 4 April 2018: Minister of Transportation Hisham Arafat affirmed that the increase in railway tickets is steady, given the announcement six months ago to finance the cost of railway development projects.

Arafat had earlier announced that the Railway Authority intends to increase railway ticket prices by up to 20-25 percent for certain lines.

The railway needs LE 55 billion ($3 billion) to implement the development projects, Arafat said.

He pointed out that the temporary operation of 40 trains will be canceled by July 1 to enable the implementation of railway development projects.

The ministry decided to reduce the number of railway trips by 4 percent to 860 trips from 900, coming after a 10-month study, Arafat added.

Concerning recent train accidents, the minister told a TV channel that the accidents take place all over the world, referring to the railway as the safest means of transportation.

There were 153 train accidents recorded in February, including the Beheira accident that took place on February 28.

At least 15 people died and 40 were injured in the train crash that took place in Beheira governorate, according to Transportation Ministry spokesperson Mohamed Ezz.

The authority recorded an actual loss of LE 6.3 billion by the end of fiscal year 2016/17, compared to the LE 4.3 billion estimated for the same year.

The revenues of the Railway Authority decreased in February 2018 to LE 154.9 million on a monthly basis, compared to LE 190.7 million in January 2018.

Meanwhile, the Railway Authority revenues recorded LE 190.7 million in January 2018, compared to LE 164.1 million in January 2017 and LE 168.7 million in December 2017.

The authority’s budget for fiscal year 2017/18 is LE 3 billion. Arafat said in a June statement that it should have been LE 9 billion for developmental projects to continue.