Deutsche Bahn operates Egypt's first high-speed rail network

Deutsche Bahn is to operate and maintain Egypt's first high-speed rail network in future. A 15-year contract with a volume in the single-digit billion range was signed during the climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, the company announced in Berlin. The contract was awarded to the railway subsidiary DB International Operations.

In a joint venture with the Egyptian company Elsewedy Electric, DB International Operations will operate the infrastructure as well as the high-speed, regional and freight traffic and will also take over the maintenance of stations and depots.

"The new railway system will drive Egypt's economic development and ensure more climate protection, from which we will also all benefit," announced Niko Warbanoff, head of the railway's ECO Group, in which various foreign subsidiaries are bundled.

Suez Canal on Rails
The new network is set to become the largest rail project in Egypt's history and the sixth largest
high-speed network in the world. A consortium led by Siemens Mobility is building the infrastructure and supplying the vehicles for passenger transport as well as freight locomotives. From 2025, the first line will connect the metropolitan regions of Alexandria, Cairo and New Administrative Capital, where Egypt's new capital is to be officially opened in January 2023 ("Suez Canal on Rails"). With two further lines and 60 stations, Cairo and Abu Simbel as well as Luxor are to be connected with Hurghada on the Red Sea. Then 90 percent of the Egyptian population should have access to the new network.

It is expected that the Egyptian population will grow from 105 million people at present to 160 million in 2050, which could overload road traffic, writes Deutsche Bahn. In this respect, the new railway system is a "central pillar in the sustainable expansion of Egypt's public transport infrastructure". Line 1 alone will halve the travel time for 30 million people. At the same time, traffic safety will be improved and air pollution will be reduced.

Deutsche Bahn assures that the local railway system will benefit from the Egyptian one through technology and knowledge transfer. The profits generated are to be reinvested in Germany. DB IO specialises in the operation and maintenance of international rail transport systems. After major contracts in Canada and India, the project in Egypt is the third major international transport project for DB IO in 2022.