Transport min, Siemens delegation probe upgrading Banha-Port Said railway line

CAIRO -7 February 2019: Transport Minister Hesham Arafat received on Thursday a Siemens delegation led by the company's chief executive officer Michael Peter to discuss upgrading Egypt's railway system on the 214 km Banha-Port Said line at a cost of 153 million dollars.

The railway system will be provided with advanced technology for signalling, 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, a statement by the Transport Ministry said.

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.

Siemens will provide the electronic interlocking systems, point mechanisms, level-crossing technology and communication technology for the routes, which include 21 stations.

The meeting was attended by the Ministry of Transport and Railway Authority top leaderships