Egypt targets July 2027 for Ain Sokhna–Marsa Matrouh high-speed line

Lire en français : L'Égypte vise juillet 2027 pour sa LGV Aïn Sokhna–Marsa Matrouh

Egypt now expects passengers to ride its first high-speed line, the 660 km route from Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea to Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean, in July 2027. Siemens-built Velaro and Desiro trains will share the line, which was originally due to open in 2023.

Transport Minister Kamel El-Wazir gave the July 2027 target on 30 September 2026 in a phone interview with state broadcaster Channel One, Egyptian Streets reported. Only nine days earlier, the ministry had still been aiming for late 2026, and trial runs on sections of Line 1 had been pencilled in for September 2026, followed by about six months of testing.

Five years of slipping dates

When Siemens Mobility, Orascom Construction and The Arab Contractors signed the first-line contract in September 2021, Railway Technology reported that opening was expected in 2023. Siemens put its share of the full three-line system at €8.1bn, including €2.7bn for the first line and 15 years of maintenance, in a statement of 28 May 2022. The ministry now puts the cost of Line 1 at about $4.45bn, or EGP 231bn.

The latest progress report, from 21 September, described sleeper laying, ballast and rail installation, catenary masts and electromechanical systems across several sections. The line will have 21 stations and a central control centre, and will pass Cairo, Alexandria and New Alamein. At Capital Central station it connects with the LRT light rail line.

A mixed fleet for a mixed line

Line 1 is planned as a shared corridor rather than a pure high-speed line. El-Wazir said it will need 15 high-speed trains, 34 regional trains and 14 freight locomotives. High-speed services are to run at up to 250 km/h and regional trains calling at intermediate stations at up to 160 km/h, giving Cairo–Marsa Matrouh in two to two and a half hours.

The high-speed sets are Velaro trains adapted for desert conditions. Siemens presented the first one at InnoTrans in Berlin in September 2024: eight cars, about 200 m long, 479 seats plus two wheelchair spaces, and a top speed of 250 km/h. Gaps in the bodyshell are sealed, air filters and underfloor airflow were redesigned against sand and dust, and the air conditioning has more capacity. At that point five Velaros had been built and tested, according to Siemens, and one Desiro had reached Cairo.

Running 250 km/h expresses, 160 km/h stopping trains and freight on the same tracks makes timetabling the real test of capacity. The faster trains will catch up with the slower ones, so overtaking loops at stations and the signalling headway will set how many paths are available. The full order covers 41 Velaros, 94 Desiros and 41 Vectron locomotives for a network of about 2,000 km over three lines, from 6th of October City to Abu Simbel and from Qena to Hurghada and Safaga.

Egypt is also upgrading its conventional network, as on the Cairo–Alexandria corridor, where Hitachi Rail delivered a new traffic control centre. On the high-speed line, the next milestone is the start of passenger-free trial runs on Line 1, which the ministry was preparing at the end of September 2026.

Sources: Egyptian Streets (02/10/2026); Egyptian Streets (21/09/2026); Siemens Mobility (28/05/2022); Siemens Mobility (24/09/2024); Railway Technology (15/09/2021).

Photo: Siemens Velaro high-speed train for Egypt at InnoTrans, Berlin, September 2024. Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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