Up to 300,000 rail passengers in Egypt try to dodge paying for their train rides every day, with as many as 50,000 succeeding in cheating the struggling state railway service out of a fare.
Railway chief Mustafa Abul Makarem said most fare-dodging took place on rural train services, not on intercity connections, which have stricter measures in place.
The revelation in a TV interview on Saturday night expands the catalogue of woes plaguing Egypt’s railway service.
Egypt’s railway authority has 10,000km of track and employs nearly 45,000 people. Its first route was built in 1854. Two years later, the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and Cairo were linked by rail.
The service’s fares remain among the world’s cheapest despite several increases in recent years. Mr Abul Makarem said one million passengers use the service every day, with the authority collecting just 3.5 to 4 billion pounds ($223 to $254 million) a year in fares.
As well as hundreds of accidents a year – many of them too minor to be reported by local media – passengers regularly endure delays, overcrowding and technical glitches. Thousands of hawkers roam the trains and stations, selling a wide range of food, beverages and other items.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s government has pledged to improve the service, with plans to spend 225bn pounds until 2024 on overhauling it.
Mr Abul Makarem said train stations across the nation last week raised the price to enter platforms for non-ticket holders seeing off friends or family from one pound to three ($0.19).
He said the higher cost for a platform pass would deter many fare dodgers in rural areas to whom a one-pound pass was cheaper than a ticket.
“The raise is also meant to ensure the comfort and safety of passengers by reducing the number of non-ticket holders on platforms,” Mr Abul Makarem said.
Fare dodgers in Egypt dangerously ride on the roof of trains, mostly on rural services. They also hide in the toilets or move between cars to avoid conductors.
Offenders who are caught are routinely made to pay the fare plus a fine. Those who refuse are handed over to the authorities at the next stop or placed under arrest by onboard police officers.
Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir, a retired army general who took the job in 2019, warned in June that he would invite foreign companies to run the railways if negligence and apathy among employees persisted.
His threat was made in the immediate aftermath of two train accidents on consecutive days that left two people dead and more than 40 injured.
The accidents in Cairo and Alexandria followed a series of deadly train disasters in March and April that killed at least 43 and injured hundreds.
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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HOW TO WATCH
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
