by Hassan Baraka
The first Egyptian air conditioned VIP train was launched in Alexandria a few days ago from Misr Station in Cairo in the presence of Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, Minister of Transport Hani Dahi and Head of the Arab Organisation for Industrialization Lt. Gen. Abdel-Aziz Seifeddin, and Head of the Railway Authority Major Gen. Ahmed Hamed.
The train is the first Egyptian air conditioned train, built as part of a contract to provide 212 air conditioned coaches for 23 trains at a cost amounting to EGP2.2 billion to be introduced upon a timetable, Dahi said. adding that the coaches are manufactured by the Arab Authority for Industrialisation (SIMAF factory) using more than 50 per cent local materials. Each train offers distinguished services, including Wi Fi, emergency medical services and surveillance cameras to monitor the level of services offered to the passengers, he said.
More than 20 structures of railway coaches arrived from China to implement the second and third trains to be operated on the Upper Egypt line, he said, adding that the first class ticket is to be sold at EGP100 and the second class at EGP70.
Each train has three first class air conditioned coaches, a buffet coach and five second class air conditioned coaches, he said, stressing that smoking is prohibited by the law in all coaches.
He pointed out to a comprehensive plan to develop the railway system over ten years on two phases at a cost of EGP79 billion, including EGP40 billion during the first five years. The plans includes developing the trains, workshops, signal system, safety and security elements and renovating and maintaining rails, he said. Some EGP3.8 billion from the state budget and international finance corporations were allocated for railways during the current fiscal, he added.
The Railways have been suffering from accumulative problems over the past years, mainly the old coaches and locomotives, the delay in renovating the railways and workshops and the deliberate sabotaging of the utility, he said.
Head of the Railways Authority Ahmed Hamed said all lines in the Upper and Lower Egypt have been re-operated after increasing production rates of workshops for locomotives through shifts to make best use of intensive labour power and to provide necessary spare parts. More than 1400 coaches have been renovated, he added.
An agreement with SIMAF Company and Kader Factory has been activated to purchase six new integral trains, he said, adding that negotiations are underway with a Hungarian and Spanish consortium to provide 700 regular passenger coaches and 50 new locomotives funded by the Hungarian Commercial Bank with easy terms and in cooperation with the Arab Organisation for Industrialisation.
