At least seven dead and 112 injured is the provisional toll of the serious railway accident that occurred on Sunday, November 8, in Egypt, in the governorate of Giza, near the town of Al Ayyat, about sixty kilometers from Cairo. The collision between two passenger trains caused the derailment of four carriages and reignited the controversy over the safety conditions of the Egyptian railway network, which has been at the center of criticism for years due to the frequency of accidents.
According to initial reconstructions, a moving train violently rear-ended a train stopped on the tracks. The impact was devastating: four carriages derailed, ending up on the sides of the embankment. Among the victims is also the driver of the train that caused the collision, who died before the arrival of the rescue teams. Six other people, transported to the hospital in very serious conditions, died shortly after. Several injured remain hospitalized in critical condition, and the toll could worsen.
No foreign tourists were involved in the accident. The tragedy occurred along one of the country's most important railway routes, also used to reach some of Egypt's main tourist destinations. The line connects the Cairo region with Fayoum and continues towards Aswan, crossing areas of great archaeological and cultural interest along the Nile.
The location of the accident initially fueled fears that there might be foreign visitors among the passengers heading to tourist locations. However, Egyptian authorities have ruled out the involvement of foreign citizens.
President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has called for responsibilities to be quickly ascertained. The government has ordered the opening of two parallel investigations: a technical commission will have to reconstruct the dynamics of the collision and verify any malfunctions of the railway systems, while the judicial authority will be called to identify possible criminal responsibilities.
Al Sisi has assured that full light will be shed on any negligence and has ordered an increase in compensation for the families of the victims and the injured. Meanwhile, health authorities continue to monitor the conditions of those hospitalized.
The tragedy reopens the debate on railway transport safety in Egypt. The country has the oldest railway network in Africa and the Middle East, inaugurated in 1854. A historic infrastructure that still represents an essential link between the main Egyptian cities but faces maintenance, modernization, and safety management issues.
In recent years, the government has announced significant investments to modernize the transport system, including projects for new high-speed lines. However, accidents continue to occur even on traditional routes, raising questions about the effectiveness of the interventions carried out.
Only on September 10, again in the governorate of Giza, two freight trains collided near Al Balyada. The accident injured a driver and his assistant, as well as derailing a locomotive and two carriages, causing severe disruptions to circulation between Cairo and Aswan.
Even more dramatic are the precedents of recent decades. In 2002, along the railway line towards Upper Egypt, one of the worst railway tragedies in the country's history occurred, with about 370 victims. In 2021, another collision between trains in southern Egypt caused 32 deaths and over a hundred injuries, while in 2024, an accident in the Nile Delta caused three deaths and about fifty injuries.
(Associated Medias) - All rights reserved