Egyptian railways mishap claims 15 lives

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Egypt’s miserable railway system proved fatal once again. Two trains collided on Wednesday north of capital, Cairo, killing at least 15 people, authorities said, in the latest deadly accident involving the country’s railways.

 
According to the country’s state media, another 40 people were injured in the accident, which took place in the Beheira province in the Nile delta.

 
The collision involved a cargo train and a passenger train heading to Cairo, the Health Ministry said. The casualty number was likely to increase.

 
Egypt’s railway system has a poor safety record, mostly blamed on decades of badly maintained equipment and poor management.

 
Deadly accidents have claimed hundreds of lives over the years. Figures recently released by the state’s statistics agency show that 1,249 train accidents took place last year, the highest since 2009 when the number reached 1,577.

 
In televised comments last year, President Sisi said 180 billion Egyptian pounds (about $10 billion) were needed to overhaul the network. The price of train tickets must be hiked, he added.

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