High-speed electric train project to be inaugurated in 2024: Ministry of Transport

CAIRO - 14 August 2023: Minister of Transport Kamel Al Wazir said that the high-speed electric train project will be inaugurated by the end of 2024.

The transport minister highlighted that the ministry supports all local companies to have a 100% local industrial component and expand at a later stage for export, explaining that after the arrival of the express train vehicles, no vehicle will be imported from abroad.

Al Wazir said that the three main factors that the ministry identifies for moving units, whether metro or railway vehicles, are the payment of the value of the deals in LE, the second is the cheapest in terms of value, and the third is the best in terms of technical quality.

Siemens Mobility, Orascom Construction, and The Arab Contractors have signed a contract with the Egyptian National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) to create the sixth largest high-speed rail system in the world.

The network, which is estimated to cost about $11 billion, is distributed over three lines. The first line will extend for a length of 660 km, between Ain Sokhna, passing through El-Alamein city, and then Marsa Matrouh.

The second line extends for 1,100 km between Greater Cairo and Abu Simbel near the southern border, passing through Luxor and Aswan.

The third line covers about 215 km, passing through Luxor, Safaga and Hurghada on the Red Sea.