Plans have been announced for the first high-speed train line in Egypt from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. With a length 621 miles, the route will pass through 15 stations, including a new unnamed “administrative capital” that will be the site of government buildings relocated from Cairo. Scheduled to be completed in two years, the train line is being designed, installed, and maintained by German manufacturing company Siemens.
The high-speed line will connect the vastly developing cities of El-Alamein on the Mediterranean Sea to Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea, while also passing through the New Administrative Capital. The line will also be operable for freight transport purposes which will further foster economic growth in the region.
Egypt was the first country in Africa to have a train system, dating back to the 1850s, though this will be its first high-speed line. Egypt’s train network has over 3,100 miles of track connecting nearly every city and town, but the system is outdated. The country has been receiving monthly shipments of Russian-made train carriages as an upgrade, but the high-speed line will be an exponential improvement to domestic travel.
We are honored and proud to expand our trustful partnership with Egypt. By building a high-efficiency rail system for the country, we will support the Egyptian people with affordable, clean and reliable transportation
Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG
The first high-speed train in Africa was deployed in Morocco. The Al Boraq train between Tangier and Casablanca opened in 2018
Siemens Mobility is the global leader in high-speed rail operations and is one of the leading companies in the Egyptian mobility market since the 1960s. The company has also extensive experience in delivering high-speed rail projects in the Middle East and Africa region.
The order value of this initial high-speed line is around USD 3bn.
