Egypt's First High-Speed Line Now Targets July 2027, and the Hurghada–Safaga Line Is Still Third in the Queue

Egypt is aiming to start carrying passengers on the first line of its high-speed electric railway in July 2027 — and the line that would put Hurghada and Safaga on the network is still the third in the queue, with no date attached.

Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir set out the timeline on state Channel One's 'Men Maspero' programme on 30 September, Egyptian Streets reports. The first line runs 660 kilometres from Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea to Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean, by way of Cairo, Alexandria and New Alamein, with 21 stations and a central control centre.

On that line, according to the minister:

• high-speed trains are to run at up to 250 km/h, and regional trains stopping at intermediate stations at up to 160 km/h
• Cairo to Marsa Matrouh is expected to take two to two and a half hours, and Ain Sokhna to Marsa Matrouh three to three and a half
• the line is planned to have 15 high-speed trains, 34 regional trains and 14 freight locomotives, running separate passenger and freight services

The coast's own connection sits further down the programme. The third line is to link Qena with Hurghada and Safaga, while the second is to run from 6 October City through Upper Egypt to Abu Simbel. El-Wazir gave no construction start or opening date for either, and the report names no cost or contractor for the Qena–Hurghada–Safaga line. Across its first three lines the network covers around 2,000 kilometres, with an eventual fourth line taking it to roughly 2,250.

The July 2027 date sits later than the government's earlier plan, which had trial running on sections of the first line beginning in September 2026 followed by about six months of testing. Until the third line is built, the desert road to Qena remains the link between this coast and the Nile Valley.