SYSTRA participates in the modernisation of a railway line in Egypt

The French Development Agency (AFD), which is funding the project, has signed a partnership agreement with Egyptian National Railways (ENR) for this modernisation in the north of the country. It links the main rail hub of the Nile Delta, Tanta, to the port of Damietta on the Mediterranean coast, one of Egypt’s biggest freight ports.

The line, which experiences regular derailments, is to receive a new signalling and communication system along its entire length, which will be designed and deployed by SYSTRA. In addition, our teams will study and supervise the double-tracking of the Mansoura – Damietta section to better serve densely populated areas, following a route parallel to one of the branches of the Nile.

SYSTRA’s involvement in this project is twofold: on the one hand, we are supporting the Egyptian rail network and doing everything we can to make it safer so that it can accommodate more trains and more passengers, and thus support the economic development of the north of the country. On the other hand, we are consolidating our presence on conventional rail projects, in parallel with the high-speed Electric Express Train programme, the modernisation of the Alexandria tramway and the development of the Cairo metro.

Tarek Saïd, Director of Operations, SYSTRA Egypt

Better access to sustainable transport

At the heart of our assignment was the installation of new traffic lights, an electronic interlocking system to maintain operating safety, a centralised control centre and an automatic train protection system to supervise operations.

The modernised line will be more regular, with shorter journey times, and will be used by both passenger and freight trains. The Egyptian authorities estimate that 4.2 million people will have better access to sustainable transport thanks to this line.

With such a new success to continue our fruitful collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Transport authorities, SYSTRA is confirming its positioning as pioneer/Leader and Signature Team of the Rail Transport Market in Egypt.

Faiçal Chaabane, Senior Vice President Egypt & North Africa Executive Director

This contract comes on top of other rail modernisations carried out by SYSTRA in Egypt, such as the Beni-Suef – Asyut line, for which we have modernised the rail systems. Since August 2023, this line, which is almost 250km long, has been fitted with a new electronic interlocking, telecommunications and signalling system on the tracks, guaranteeing optimum safety for passengers while increasing the number of trains in circulation by more than 80%.