A consortium of Egypt’s Elsewedy Electric and German national railway operator Deutsche Bahn has been awarded a 15-year contract by the Egyptian government to operate and maintain the country's high-speed rail network.

The contract award was announced on the side lines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) underway in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

In August 2022, local newspapers had reported that Ministry of Transport – represented by the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) had signed a preliminary agreement with the consortium manage and operate the three-line, high-speed train network for 15 years, and extendable for another 15 years.

Egypt’s high-speed railway project involves the construction of the sixth largest high-speed rail system in the world comprising three passenger and freight lines with a total length of 2,000 kilometres. The lines include the 660-km Ain-Sokhna-Marsa Matrouh line (under construction) with 22 stations, the 1,100 km Cairo-Abu Simbel line, and the 225-km Luxor-Safaga-Hurghada line. Siemens Mobility has been awarded €8.1 billion construction contract for all three lines.

(Writing by Eman Hamed; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)