Egyptian Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir announced Friday that the Alexandria port has received 22 passenger railway coaches, with the Transport Ministry now having received a total of 208 coaches.
This comes as part of a deal to manufacture and supply 1,300 coaches signed between the Egyptian National Railways (ENR) and the Russian company Transmashholding (the representative of the Russian-Hungarian alliance) at a cost of 1.16 billion euros.
Wazir said that this batch consists of third-class coaches with dynamic ventilation, with the rest of the coaches to arrive according to schedule.
He added that these new coaches are entered into service according to the ENR’s daily operating schedule so that citizens each month can see them operating firsthand – all aspart of the ministry’s efforts to improve its services.
The railway system’s strides in development comes via the great interest that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has attached to developing the transport sector, providing all capabilities to upgrade it according to the latest global technologies.
Egypt signed a contract back in 2018 with the Russian-Hungarian Transmashholding Company to supply 1,300 train coaches to the ENR.
The largest deal in the ENR’s history, it represents a qualitative shift in the services provided to passengers in Egypt.
The deal includes 500 third-class units with forced ventilation, 500 third-class units with air-conditioning, 180 second-class units with air-conditioning, 30 second-class units with air-conditioning and buffets, and 90 first-class units with air-conditioning.
Egypt’s government aims to overhaul railway facilities though the periodic updating of infrastructure and coaches, focusing on safety and aiming to utilize unconventional methods to provide further resources to implement developmental plans.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
