Thales wins Egypt rail contract

23 April 2018
Thales subsidiary to modernise 48-kilometre section of Egypt's mainline railway track

Egyptian National Railways (ENR) has awarded Thales Espana, a division of France’s Thales, a contract for the modernisation of the signalling and telecoms systems of the 48-kilometre Cairo to Benha section of the mainline railway that links Egypt’s northern governorate of Alexandria to Cairo.

The Cairo to Benha rail line is understood to consist of nine stations and 48km of tracks that carry some of the busiest traffic on Egypt’s mainline rail network.

According to Thales, the project will improve traffic safety and allow trains to travel to up to 160 kilometres an hour.

The improvement is expected to increase the trains’ passenger and freight capacity for the line that links the country’s northern region to the capital Cairo and all the way to the southern region of Aswan.

Thales said it will extend to this section of the railway the same signalling technologies that it is currently implementing on the Benha to Alexandria section of the line.

In November last year, ENR awarded Thales Espana a $150m contract for the modernisation of the signalling and telecoms systems of the 180km railway line that connects Assiut and Nagh Hammadi.

Similar to the Cairo to Benha line, the Assiut to Nagh Hammadi rail line lies on the route that links Alexandria, Cairo and Aswan. The contract, which is to be executed over a three-year period, is being funded by the World Bank.

 

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