Transport Minister: Urgent plan to raise safety and security rates in railways

Cairo – Ahmed Sabri: Transport Minister Eng. Kamel al-Wazir announced an urgent plan, to be implemented within a period not exceeding one year, to raise safety and security standards on railways in line with the latest global systems, while providing the necessary financial resources for its execution.

This came during an extensive meeting held by the Transport Minister with the Egyptian National Railways Authority under the slogan “Intensifying Safety and Security Rates on All Lines.”

The minister conducted an extensive tour of specialized sorting workshops responsible for maintaining and overhauling railway locomotives and for the daily preparation of air-conditioned passenger carriages. He stressed to regional managers and authority leadership the necessity of conducting regular and surprise inspections across all operational categories at work sites along railway lines, including workshops, train and locomotive maintenance, and control towers, as well as train drivers. This is to ensure full compliance with the instructions and regulations governing operations, and to verify the implementation of all security and safety measures, thereby guaranteeing the safety and regularity of train movements and protecting passengers’ lives.

He also emphasized that no train should leave the workshops unless its technical safety and operational readiness are fully confirmed, contributing to increased safety and security rates and the regularity of train traffic. He stressed the importance of discipline and full commitment by every employee in performing their assigned duties, and the need to increase workshop productivity and improve the efficiency of maintenance and preparation work, given its critical role in providing technical support to the rolling stock fleet.

He pointed out the urgent need to intensify immediately all measures and actions that enhance security and safety factors within the railway system. He stressed that everything that can be implemented immediately will be started without delay, while the remaining measures will be executed according to a specific timeline, with the implementation period not exceeding one year at the latest.

The Transport Minister added that train operation schedules on various network lines will be reviewed and reorganized to match actual passenger transport demand and ridership rates on each line, achieving a balance between the number of trips and train capacity. This will contribute to improving service levels and meeting passengers’ needs.

The minister noted that in the coming period, all measures and mechanisms that contribute to intensifying safety and security rates will be heavily implemented, with dedicated financial resources provided. He also highlighted the intensification of projects to update and organize signaling systems, noting that the Cairo–Alexandria, Beni Suef–Assiut, and Assiut–Nag Hammadi lines have been completed. He stressed the need to swiftly complete security and safety projects on the remaining lines within a maximum of one year, in accordance with the latest global systems. Additionally, a camera system will be implemented along railway lines and completed at stations and on locomotives, and the latest global rescue standards will be provided in the coming period. He also confirmed an increase in track inspection machines on various lines.