Plans for an incredible 1,243-mile high speed railway line linking 60 cities across Africa are underway. Siemens Mobility, an arm of the German tech giant, is masterminding the work after it was awarded the contract to build Egypt‘s first ever high speed rail network.
According to the company, the project is making “significant” progress. The first phase in Cairo, known as the Green Line, will span 410 miles (660km) from Ain Sokhna to Marsa Matrouh via Cairo and Alexandria.
Track has been laid while train stations and bridges have been under construction by local contractors. Major milestones also include installation of the first four transformers and completion of two substations for the electrified line.
Siemens Mobility unveiled its first high speed train for the line in September last year. Designed to withstand Egypt’s hot, sandy conditions, the Velaro train which was on show at the InnoTrans transport trade fair in Berlin is the first of 41 trains for the new line.
Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility, said at the time: “The Velaro is one of the most advanced high-speed trains in the world, incorporating the operational experience of over three billion kilometers.”
Two hundred metres long, the eight car train features standard and business class compartments as well as a restaurant car. Built to carry up to 481 passengers, the train is the latest iteration of the Velaro, a version of which already travels on Germany’s Deutsche Bahn.
To guard against desert sand and dust, gaps on the outside of the train have been sealed while high tech filter systems are fitted to keep the air on board clean.
Building work has focused on a stabling facility at New Capital Station, east of Cairo, which is the first of six. The first depot has seen “extensive” construction activity, according to Siemens Mobile. This includes a staggering 11 million cubic meters of soil cutting and 3.5 million cubic meters of backfilling.
Siemens Mobility says the joint project with Orascom Construction and The Arab Contractors will “revolutionise” rail transport in Egypt. It hails the network as providing a “safe and reliable” system with planet warming carbon emissions slashed by 70% once completed.
Rail travel plays a “significant” part in the Egyptian economy and is an “essential” form of transport, moving an average 1.4 million passengers each weekday, according to the World Bank, which is funding rail projects in the country.
The same organisation says that while rail plays a “major” role in Egypt’s transport, it “falls short” in two “critical” areas – the movement of freight and passenger safety.
Egypt’s Government has been loaned almost $1billion by the World Bank to address those issues. A $440million loan has been granted for safety improvements on the the Alexandria-Cairo-Nag Hammadi railway corridor. Another $400m will address rail logistics, according to the World Bank.
Salma Abdel Fattah, a World Bank Transport Specialist, said: “Railways are important to Egyptians, and have great potential for the economy, but decades of underinvestment have taken a heavy toll on rail infrastructure and services.”
