Egypt seeks to purchase 1,300 rail carriages in 2018

CAIRO – 2 January 2018: Egypt is seeking to upgrade the infrastructure of railways; hence, the government has stepped up several railway investments to improve its safety. To implement its 2018 plans of developing new tracks, the ERA will purchase 1,300 rail carriages.

As a part of the efforts exerted to improve railway in Egypt, Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA) issued an international tender in November to choose the company that will manufacture and supply 1,300 rail carriages. This will support and develop both passengers and goods transportation.

Around 12 international companies were invited to this tender, as seven companies should submit their offers before December 20. Offers were made in the tender by companies from Russia, Hungary, China, Italy and Spain to manufacture and provide the carriages. The carriages should be delivered 40 months after signing the contract.

The authority will determine which companies it will sign the contract with in the first quarter of 2018.

In August 2017, Egypt signed a $575 million agreement with American company General Electric Co to provide 100 new multi-use locomotives, 15 year technical support and spare parts, and to maintain and upgrade 81 trains bought by Egyptian railways in 2008 as part of the plan to use railways to transport 25 million goods by 2022.

Minister of Transport, Hisham Arafat, said in a government statement on July 15, 2017, that the first shipment of 25 locomotives would arrive in 2018.
In addition, due to the old locomotives of ENR fleet, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided a €290 million financing to supply 100 locomotives to provide the customers with higher quality services.

Furthermore, EBRD will help ENR provide technical assistance support to develop and implement a comprehensive freight reform program to separate the freight operations from trains transporting people.

The Egyptian Ministry of Transport and a coalition of Chinese firms signed on August 8, 2017, an agreement worth $1.24 billion to build a light rail transit in new districts around Cairo.

The light rail transit is a fast tram connecting the under-construction New Administrative Capital with distant districts of Greater Cairo including Al-Salam City, 10th of Ramadan City, Obour City, Badr City and Shorouk City.

The project will accommodate 340,000 passengers daily and will reduce traffic on the Cairo-Ismailia highway by about 30 percent.

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. The total cost of railroad development in 2017 is LE 900 million.