10 officials referred to disciplinary trial over Badrashin train accident

CAIRO – 29 August 2018: The head of the Administrative Prosecution Authority referred 10 officials of the Egyptian National Railways Authority to a disciplinary trial over negligence in performing their duties and lack of supervision, resulting in a train derailing in Badrashin, Giza.

On July 13, at least 55 people were hurt in a train derailment in Badrashen, Giza after three carriages of the southbound train were derailed from the tracks, the Ministry of Health reported.

In November 2017, two trains collided in Alexandria, leaving more than 40 fatalities and 170 injuries. Investigations with 10 officials from the Egyptian Railway Authority about the accident revealed that the driver of one of the trains, Emad Helmy, was the cause of the accident.

In the same context, on Aug. 21, 2018, Egypt’s Transport Minister Hisham Arafat ordered the Railway Authority to install surveillance cameras around the central control towers of the National Railways to monitor workers and prevent train accidents.

Arafat told Egypt Today that these surveillance cameras are very important as through them all signals can be controlled, adding that it is necessary to monitor the control towers all day and that the installation of cameras will not cost much.

He stressed that this project protects both officials and employees as these cameras will detect any attempts to tamper with the signals and will monitor the performance of all workers.

According to media reports, the railway network will not be entirely developed until 2022, as the Ministry of Transportation announced earlier that four mega development projects aiming to upgrade the railway signaling will be fully completed by 2022.

On Aug. 25, 2018; the Deputy Head of the Railway Authority, Maghdy Al Sabagh, said that a total of LE 67 million is set to be spent on the development of the railway stations.

This came in conjunction with the government’s plan to provide Upper Egypt’s railway
stations with electric power-feeding system for the railway signaling equipment.