Egypt's Transport Minister Kamel Al-Wazir stated on Wednesday that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on Cairo's Ring Road consumes between EGP 18 million and EGP 19 million worth of electricity each month. The ministry pays the full cost at the regular rate without any discount. This revelation was made during an interview with presenter Rami Radwan on Channel One's Men Maspero programme.
Minister Al-Wazir highlighted Egypt's efforts to develop the railway sector, citing its direct connection to citizens' daily lives. Egypt has the second-oldest railway network in the world after England, stretching for about 10,000 kilometres, most of which has been built since 1856. The railway system previously comprised around 778 locomotives, nearly 3,000 passenger cars, and about 9,000 freight cars.
The minister noted that the railway system previously carried only around 700,000 passengers a day, in addition to transporting approximately three to four million tons of goods annually. A comprehensive plan was developed in 2014 to modernize the railway network, including upgrading rolling stock, improving the efficiency of existing equipment, and developing railway lines and signalling systems.
The modernization efforts have led to an increase in the number of passengers transported by rail to around 1.5 million a day, compared with about 700,000 previously. The target is to reach around two million passengers a day by 2030, while increasing annual freight transport to 13 million tons. The ministry is also considering establishing a new railway network in the desert hinterland of the Nile Valley.
With the world moving towards electricity and clean energy, Minister Al-Wazir emphasized the need for the new network to be based on high-speed electric trains that are environmentally friendly. The high-speed electric rail network comprises three main lines, with the first stretching from Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea to Marsa Matrouh and Salloum on the Mediterranean, passing through Cairo and 6th of October City.
The minister pointed out that work has already begun on all three lines, with the aim of enabling Egyptians to travel by high-speed electric train from Sokhna to Matrouh via Alexandria by July 2027. The journey from Cairo to Marsa Matrouh by high-speed electric train would take around two to two and a half hours, while the journey from Ain Sokhna to Matrouh would take approximately three to three and a half hours.
The high-speed electric rail network includes three types of trains: a high-speed electric train with a maximum speed of 250 kilometres per hour that stops in governorates, a regional train travelling at 160 kilometres per hour that stops at centres, and an electric locomotive dedicated to hauling freight cars at speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour.
Key points
- The BRT system on Cairo's Ring Road consumes EGP 18-19 million in electricity monthly, fully paid by the ministry.
- Egypt's railway network has been upgraded, with passenger numbers increasing to 1.5 million a day.
- A new high-speed electric rail network is under construction, with three main lines and a target completion date of July 2027.
