CAIRO – 14 September 2020: The Railways Authority announced, Monday that members of Army and police are permitted to board trains of all kinds wearing their military uniform, or using the military ID card, or with official travel form, without the need of referring to the ticket exchange counters.
It was added in the statement that police and Army members are permitted to get onto trains board directly in those three cases without referring to the ticketing counters; otherwise “they would be fined”.
This decision comes shortly after the incident of "train lady," Safia Abou El Azm, whom her story went viral on social media after purchasing a train ticket for a conscript who lost his train pass and was about to get off halfway after he had been scolded by both the train chief and supervisor.
Minister of Transportation Kamel al-Wazir instructed Friday carrying out psychological check-ups on railway workers who deal with passengers - like ticket venders and train supervisors – as part of the periodical training they receive.
It is noted that the Egyptian Armed Forces pay ahead for conscripts to board trains without having to purchase tickets. In Thursday's case, it seems that the conscript had lost his pass. That is why the minister stated in a phone-in that he had issued a decree instructing supervisors to not ask for the pass as long as the conscript is in the military overall.
The whole situation was videoed by a passenger, and went viral on social media prompting the presidency and the Egyptian Armed Forces to thank the woman as well as a penalty against the train's supervisor and chief by the minister of transportation.
The former and latter were subject to pay cuts equivalent to the wages of 15 days and 50 days, respectively. They would no longer work on passenger trains as they will be only assuming duties on cargo trains. They will also be fined LE4,000 for not putting on face masks, and be subject to drug tests.
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