Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel Al-Wazir conducted an extensive inspection tour to review progress on Egypt's first high-speed train line. The tour focused on the section from 6th of October City to Borg El Arab, emphasizing station construction and civil works. The 660-kilometer line forms a key part of the Sokhna-Dekheila integrated logistics corridor.
During the tour, Al-Wazir conveyed President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's greetings and appreciation to the project workforce, highlighting the president's confidence in their ability to deliver this transformative national project and a major advancement for Egypt's transport system.
The minister reviewed finishing works at key stations, including 6th of October, Sphinx, Sadat City, Wadi El-Natrun, Nubaria, Borg El Arab, the Egyptian Army Stadium station in King Mariout, and Amreya. These stations are designed to serve major residential, industrial, logistical, and tourism centers, with seamless integration into other transport systems such as the West Nile Monorail and the planned Alexandria Metro.
He also examined passenger flow arrangements within stations, from main entrances to ticket halls and platforms, along with plans for optimal administrative and commercial use of station facilities.
The inspection included a review of industrial works across the project corridor, encompassing bridges, tunnels, culverts, and waterways. This section features eight main track bridges, 26 crossing bridges, 226 culverts, and two tunnels. Most track bridges have been completed and handed over to the executing consortium for ballast spreading, sleeper installation, and full track works.
Al-Wazir was briefed on progress in track-laying and electrification by the Siemens-Orascom-Arab Contractors consortium. Rail installation is complete over 84.3 kilometers east of the Nile, 18 kilometers west of the Nile, and 24.6 kilometers in the northern sector.
On rolling stock, 21 regional Desiro trains out of 34 have been manufactured, with eight delivered. Seven high-speed Velaro trains out of 15 are complete, with two delivered, plus 14 electric freight locomotives for the project.
Al-Wazir emphasized that the high-speed train is a national milestone connecting all regions of the country. It establishes, for the first time, a direct land link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, which he described as "a new Suez Canal on rails".
The network plays a strategic role in supporting new and existing industrial zones, boosting tourism to cultural, religious, and coastal sites, serving developed agricultural areas, and creating integrated logistics corridors linking production centers to seaports.