LAGOS, Nigeria (Voice Of Naija) Egypt Targets 4m Daily Rail Passengers by 2030 as the country moves ahead with a major overhaul of its railway and public transportation system, including a 2,250-kilometre high-speed electric rail network expected to significantly increase the number of passengers using trains across the country.
According to Egypt Independent, the target was disclosed by Egypt’s Transport Minister, Kamel El-Wazir, during an inspection of the first line of the country’s high-speed electric railway network on Sunday, August 30. The disclosure shows that the government is aiming to combine an expanded conventional railway system with the new high-speed network to reach a total capacity of approximately four million passengers every day by 2030.
The figure represents a major increase from the current number of people using Egypt’s conventional railway network. The existing system, which stretches for about 10,000 kilometres, currently transports between 1.1 million and 1.2 million passengers daily.
El-Wazir said the government wants conventional railways to reach a daily passenger figure of 1.5 million by 2030.
The remaining 2.5 million passengers are expected to be carried by the first three lines of the new high-speed electric railway once they become operational. Combined, the two systems are projected to provide capacity for about four million passengers each day.
Egypt’s high-speed railway project is one of the country’s largest transportation infrastructure programmes and is being developed as part of a wider plan to establish an integrated public transportation system.
According to the Egyptian State Information Service, the government began working on the broader modern mass-transit programme in 2019, with the aim of developing a more sustainable and interconnected transportation network.
The planned high-speed railway network will eventually cover 2,250 kilometres.
The first three lines, covering about 2,000 kilometres, are currently under construction. The first route will run from Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea to Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean coast, passing through Cairo and Alexandria.
The second line is planned to connect 6th of October City with Abu Simbel through Upper Egypt, while the third will link Qena with the Red Sea destinations of Safaga and Hurghada.
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A fourth line, covering 250 kilometres between Port Said and Alexandria, is planned to be developed in partnership with the private sector.
Egyptian newspaper Ahram reported that the first line stretches about 660 kilometres and will include 21 stations. It is also being designed to connect with several existing and planned transportation systems, including the Light Rail Transit network, Cairo’s metro system and the monorail network.
The development is not limited to passenger transportation.
Egyptian authorities also intend to use the new rail network to strengthen connections between major industrial areas, ports and economic centres.
The Transport Ministry has said approximately 400 kilometres of additional conventional railway lines are being added to serve industrial zones in areas including 10th of Ramadan, 6th of October, Sadat City and Borg El Arab.
These connections are expected to facilitate the movement of workers, raw materials and finished products between industrial areas, markets and export ports.
The existing railway system is also undergoing upgrades, including the modernisation of signalling infrastructure.
According to the Egyptian government, about 900 trains currently operate on the conventional railway network every day, using approximately 1,000 locomotives and 4,000 carriages.
The high-speed rail project is now approaching a major milestone.
El-Wazir said passenger-free trial operations on part of the first high-speed line are expected to begin in early October. Testing of the wider line will then take place in stages before passenger services begin once technical and safety requirements have been completed.
According to the Egyptian outlet Ahram Auto, the same October testing timeline follows the minister’s inspection and statements.
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The trial period is expected to allow engineers to test the railway’s trains, signalling and control systems and other infrastructure before passengers are allowed to use the service.
The government is also developing other forms of public transportation alongside the high-speed rail network.
In Greater Cairo, the metro system currently carries between two million and 2.5 million passengers every day, according to figures provided by the Transport Ministry.
Metro Line 4 is also under construction and is expected to begin trial operations in mid-2027. The line will connect 6th of October City with Fustat, passing through the Giza Plateau and central parts of Cairo.
Once fully operational, the fourth metro line is projected to carry between one million and 1.25 million passengers every day.
Egypt is also expanding its Bus Rapid Transit system along the Cairo Ring Road and developing a monorail network intended to connect the New Administrative Capital with Greater Cairo.
The country’s transportation strategy is therefore being built around several interconnected systems rather than relying on one mode of transport.
The government has described the approach as having three major components: intercity transportation, urban transportation and feeder services that connect residential communities to major transport hubs.
For Egypt, the expansion of rail transportation also comes against the backdrop of persistent congestion in its major cities.
Cairo, one of the world’s most densely populated urban areas, has long struggled with heavy road traffic, increasing the pressure on public transportation systems.
Expanding rail capacity could give commuters and long-distance travellers an alternative to private cars and buses while potentially reducing pressure on major roads.
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The high-speed network could also have implications for tourism.
Routes connecting Cairo with Alexandria, the Red Sea coast and Upper Egypt could make it easier for visitors to move between major tourist destinations.
The connection to Ain Sokhna and other Red Sea locations is particularly significant given Egypt’s large tourism industry and the importance of coastal destinations to the country’s economy.
However, reaching the four-million-passenger target will depend on the timely completion of the infrastructure and the successful integration of the different transportation systems.
The government has set ambitious timelines for several projects, meaning construction, testing and safety certification will remain critical stages before full passenger operations can begin.
For now, Egyptian authorities are pressing ahead with the railway expansion.
The conventional railway network is being upgraded while thousands of kilometres of new high-speed infrastructure are being developed.
If the projects are completed as planned, Egypt expects to have the capacity to transport approximately four million rail passengers every day by 2030.
The target would represent a significant transformation of the country’s transportation system and give rail a much larger role in connecting Egypt’s cities, industrial centres, ports and tourist destinations.
