Railways revenues increase to LE 175M in March

CAIRO – 24 April 2018: Revenues of the Egyptian Railways Authority increased by LE 20.7 million in March 2018 to record LE 175.3 million, compared to LE 154.6 million in the same month of 2017, according to data from the state statistics agency CAPMAS.

March’s revenues also saw an increase compared to February, in which revenues reached LE 154.9 million.

CAPMAS showed that train passengers reached around 21.8 million in March 2018, compared to 21.7 million in March 2017. Cargo transported through the railway, meanwhile, dropped in March 2018 to 401,000 tons, compared to 421,000 tons in March 2017.

The number of accidents in March stood at 169, versus 127 in the same month last year, data showed.

Revenues in January recorded LE 190.7 million, compared to LE 164.1 million in January 2017 and LE 168.7 million in December 2017.

By the end of fiscal year 2016/201, Egyptian Railways Authority recorded an actual loss of LE 6.3 billion, compared to LE 4.3 billion estimated for the same year.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said last month that Egypt’s rail lines require funds ranging from LE 200-250 billion to upgrade them.

Minister of Transport Hesham Arafat said that railway networks’ infrastructure has aged, especially its signaling systems and track, and that they require upgrading.

Arafat said that the ministry is exerting efforts to improve the basic rail infrastructure by constructing, investing and operating rail lines, but this needs a huge amount of money.
The Egyptian Railways Authority’s budget in fiscal year 2017/18 stood at LE 3 billion.