Ramses station renovation, maintenance to end in Sept.

CAIRO – 28 August 2019: The renovation, development and maintenance of Ramses Railway Station cost LE 225 million and will end in September, according to the Egyptian National Railways Authority.

In a statement released on Aug. 28, the National Railways Authority announced that nearly 98 percent of the maintenance work and 90 percent of the additional development and expansion plans have been completed.

Earlier in August, Egypt and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed two grants worth €1.5 million (LE 28 million) for the project of renovating locomotives and developing the railway freight system.

The grants were signed by Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, and Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Office in Egypt Khaled Hamza.

The first grant will be directed to assist the National Authority for Railways in the development of the current shipping business and in studying the establishment of a separate subsidiary, the establishment of a tracking system for goods and the establishment of an appropriate administrative and organizational structure for that company. This is in addition to studying the transfer of assets and re-evaluation, according to Ministry of Investment’s statement.

Egypt is also working with Siemens to upgrade its railway system on the 214 km Banha-Port Said line at a cost of $153 million.

“The railway system will be provided with advanced technology for signaling, level-crossings and communications and the number of wagons and passengers on this route will be increased. The existing mechanical interlocking systems will be replaced by modern, state-of-the-art centrally controlled electronic systems, according to the Transport Ministry's statement," explains MENA.

“The modernization is part of a plan to upgrade Egypt’s rail system to increase safety levels and raise the railway’s maximum speed.”

“The upgrade also falls within the government's interest in enhancing the movement of goods via railways to reduce traffic on roads and increase revenues of the Railway Authority by increasing the freight volume on routes,” the article says, continuing, “Siemens will provide the electronic interlocking systems, point mechanisms, level-crossing technology and communication technology for the routes, which include 21 stations.”

Developments pursued by the Egyptian government do not simply stop there. The government also inked a deal with Trance Mash Holding to import 1,300 carriages for railway trains. According to a statement to RT, the Russian news agency, Kirril Lippa, the company CEO, said the imports will start in December 2019, adding that the 1,300 carriages will be exported to Egypt over a four-year period.