Contract awarded to modernise Egyptian railway

Thales

A consortium of Egypt’s Orascom Construction and Paris-based Thales Group has signed a new $323.50 million contract with Egyptian National Railways to modernise the double-track railway.

The track, located on the east bank of the river Nile, 115 km from the country’s capital, will link Cairo with Giza and Beni Suef.

The project will be completed in 60 months, the companies said in a statement. In addition, two years of guarantee and another five years of maintenance services will be provided for the line.

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The consortium will be responsible for modernising the signalling and telecommunications systems, as well as for the renewal of the track within this specific section.

The scope of work includes design, supply, construction, testing and commissioning. It also includes provisions for spare parts, training, documentation, guarantee with maintenance services, tracks and civil works.

The contract is part of the railway improvement and safety project for Egypt, which aims to improve the safety of passengers and employees of the Egyptian national railway company by introducing safety and traffic control systems.

Inaugurated in 1854 with a section between Alexandria and the governorate of Kafr El Sheikh, the Egyptian railway network is one of the oldest in the world, second only to Britain.

In the almost 170 years since then, with more than 8,000 km of track and 40 million passengers, the railway has become the backbone of the country’s citizen transport, carrying almost 314 million passengers annually.