Save passengers up to 50 percent on travel time
Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) has signed a $4.34bn, 15-year contract with a consortium including Siemens Mobility, Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors for the design, installation and maintenance of a high-speed electric rail network linking the Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts.
Dubbed the Suez Canal on rails, the first stage of the rail network will be 660 km in length, running from the Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna and the Mediterranean ports of Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh, and will include a freight line and main line designed to carry 30m passengers annually.
Siemens said its share of the contract was worth around $3bn, with the trains being delivered by the end of 2023, with the order set to be completed by 2027.
Siemens said on its website that the project will “save passengers up to 50 percent on travel time” and “ensure faster delivery of goods thanks to creating a rail link from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.”
The long discussed trans-Egyptian railway has also been dubbed the Med-Red rail project.
Written by Andrew Cox