The Minister of Transport follows up on the launch of the high-speed train implementation work (Qena / Hurghada / Safaga) 17/09/2023 | 03:30 PM
Lieutenant General Engineer/ Kamel Al-Wazir, Minister of Transport, made an inspection tour today for the route of line 3 of the high-speed electric train network (Qena / Hurghada / Safaga), with a length of 225 km, to follow up the launch of the project implementation, inspect, overcome the implementation obstacles, and push companies to intensify equipment and confirm commitment to the planned timetable for the project.
Minister of Transport, accompanied by Major General/ Ashraf Al-Daoudi, Governor of Qena, began their tour inspecting Qena interchange station between line 2 (October/Aswan/Abu Simbel) and line 3 (Qena/Hurghada/Safaga), where the Minister had followed up the commencement of implementation work of the station, meeting with a number of residents of the area surrounding the station.
Minister of Transport had assured these residents of the great importance to develop this project, noting that the station will provide many opportunities of work for the people of the region and Qena, whether during the implementation stages in various construction specializations, in partnership with the implementing company or during the operation of the station, indicating that all projects implemented in Egypt have the primary goal of serving citizens and achieving comprehensive development in various governorates.
The Minister also indicated that line 3 of the high-speed electric train network is considered as a part of the development logistics corridor (Safaga / Qena / Abu Tartour) and will contribute to link the governorates of Upper Egypt with the Red Sea Governorate through Qena interchange station between lines 2 & 3 of the network, in addition to the connection with the railway network also located in Qena area which will serve the tourist traffic, as it will connect all types of touristic areas (diving tourism, beaches in Hurghada, Sahl Hasheesh, and cultural and historical tourism in Luxor), in addition to using interchange stations with line 2, enabling tourists to reach each of the pyramids of Giza/Abydos- Sohag / Luxor / Aswan / Abu Simbel - religious tourism in southern Egypt and Deir Al-Muharraq in Assiut) which allows the diversity of touristic programs for the tourist in one trip.
The Minister had also advised that the line will also contribute to logistics services and the process of transferring goods, such as transporting products from South Upper Egypt and Al-Wadi Al-Gadid to and from Safaga Port, such as phosphate exports in the Al-Wadi Al-Gadid and aluminum in Naga Hammadi, as well as agricultural crops from the east of Al-Awiyyat and Toshka to Safaga Port via Aswan and Qena, where the line will connect Safaga Port and Hurghada Airport to the high-speed electric train network. It will also contribute to achieving sustainable development in the national project in the Golden Triangle region and encourage the people of other governorates to move to the Red Sea Governorate for work, housing, and tourism, and to achieve sustainable development in this governorate.
It is worth mentioning that the high-speed electric train network, currently under construction, consists of 3 main lines with a total length of about 2000 km. The design speed of the network is 250 km/h, the operational speed of the high-speed electric trains is 230 km/h, regional electric trains is 160 km/h, and trains, transporting goods, is 120 km/h. The number of high-speed electric trains on this line is scheduled to reach 6 trains, and 12 regional electric trains with a speed of 160 km/h, and 6 tractors, transporting goods, to ensure achieving the greatest financial return that covers the operation and maintenance expenses later, where the Minister of Transport had advised that the goal of diversifying the rolling stock (Fast and regional) is to provide a civilized means of transportation that suits all income levels, while providing a distinguished service.
Line 3 also includes the establishment of three stations: Hurghada (a high-speed train station), which was chosen to be located in an intermediate location between the residential area, touristic attractions, and beaches, in order to serve the residents of Hurghada and the tourists who frequently visiting this city, Hurghada Airport Service, and Sahl Hasheesh Station ( regional train station), which was chosen to be as close as possible to the touristic areas in Sahl Hasheesh and Safaga Station (high-speed train station), which will serve passenger traffic and goods transportation to and from Safaga Port through the links and shipping docks of Safaga Sea Port.