Egypt prepares to operate 1st batch of new Spanish trains in June

CAIRO - 5 April 2022: The Egyptian Railways Authority is preparing to operate the first batch of the Spanish air-conditioned trains contracted with the Spanish company Talgo next June, after the first batch arrived and is currently in the maintenance workshop.

 

It is expected that the trials of the vehicles will take place without passengers for a period of 3 months before entering the service.

 

According to sources, the first batch is in the maintenance workshops, is currently awaiting the start of experiments  of its operation to ensure that safety procedures conform to the specifications before making them available to the public. 

 

The first batch consists of 13 air-conditioned cars, a buffet cart, a power cart and a tractor. The arrival of the entire contracted 7 Spanish trains is planned by the end of 2022.

 

 

The sources added that the new Spanish air-conditioned trains are planned to operate on the main lines Cairo-Alexandria and vice versa and Cairo-Aswan and vice versa. A study is underway to seek the assistance of a specialized private company to manage, operate and maintain it without interfering in determining the ticket price, which will remain the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport represented by the Railway Authority.

 

 

The sources pointed out that the cost of the Spanish train deal amounts to 126 million euros, to be financed through a soft loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

 

The new trains will be made of aluminum, which reduces their weight, which helps to save the train’s consumption of fuel in the journey, and it is also resistant to rust and therefore does not corrode from the water used in the cleanliness and maintenance of trains, which extends the life span of such trains, and they have designated places. For people with special needs, each seat of the first air-conditioned carriages is equipped with a display screen to display film materials, in addition to the presence of central screens in the second-class air-conditioned carriages, and there will be surveillance cameras in those trains to secure the passengers.