Egypt has unveiled its first batch of modern, locally manufactured rail vehicles, comprising 10 air-conditioned metro trains and 80 carriages

Egypt has unveiled its first batch of modern, locally manufactured rail vehicles, comprising 10 air-conditioned metro trains and 80 carriages. The vehicles were designed at the SEMAF rail equipment factory of the Arab Industrialization Organization (AOI), in collaboration with the South Korean group Hyundai Rotem.

This is the culmination of a government initiative to locate an industrial production line for trains for the Egyptian, African and international markets. The contract was signed in April 2021 between the Egyptian National Tunnel Authority (NAT) and a consortium comprising Hyundai Rotem and NERIC.

The consortium is expected to invest USD 656 million to produce a total of 30 trains (320 cars) to be delivered to the two above-mentioned lines by 2028. Among other things, the clauses provide for the integration of 30% local components.

In addition to the transfer of skills, the local production of railway units should help to reduce the cost of renewing the train fleet, a plan that is part of a roadmap that has been underway since 2014. This involves an overhaul of the entire rail system, which the authorities hope will put an end to the repeated accidents and loss of human life that have occurred in the past.