14 out of 1100 trains back on track in Egypt from Saturday

[DJKeefy]

Egypt’s railway authorities will re-operate 14 out of 1100 trains starting Saturday after more than a month of stoppage.

The trains will be travelling from Banha to both the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt and vice-versa.

By order of the Ministry of Interior, no trains have been allowed to travel across Egypt since the dispersal of two pro-Morsi sit-ins on 14 August by security forces, in fear of potential attacks by supporters of the deposed president.

Over the past few weeks, security forces have announced the detection of a number of explosives in different locations in Cairo and other Egyptian cities, including mortar rounds on the Suez-Ismailia railway line.

“The trains will partially operate starting Saturday after the approval of the Ministry of Interior and in coordination with it,” Hussein Zakaria, head of Railway Authorities told Al-Ahram's Arabic news website.

Ten trains will transfer passengers back and forth between the Nile delta’s Banha and Alexandria, according to Zakaria. Four additional trains will travel from Banha to Upper Egypt’s Qena and vice-versa.

Zakaria added that tickets will be purchased on the trains, and that railway police will be present on trains and at stations.

According to the official website for Egypt’s railways, the institute assists in the transportation of around 500 million passengers annually (1.4 million per day).

This is the first long-term closure the railway system has experienced since the 18-day uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/82462.aspx