Th objective is to link Cairo's industrial zones as well as the industrial and agricultural goods from across Upper Egypt with the red sea ports as well as for pan African trade. The HSR aims to cut short travel and remove traffic bottlenecks between the North and SOuth of the country. Currentlly it takes 12 hours to get from Cairo to Aswan, and with the train it should be cut down to 4 hours. The red line from Qena to Safaga passing through Hurgada will also serve as a tourist connection from Luxor to the red sea.

Description

The Cairo–Aswan High-Speed Rail (Line 2) is an 1,100-kilometre electric rail project in Egypt connecting Greater Cairo to Aswan and Abu Simbel, running parallel to the west side of the Nile River. The project has a total cost of €13 billion, split between a €4.3 billion foreign currency component backed by a Deutsche Bank and KfW IPEX-Bank led European syndicate, and approximately €6.9 billion equivalent in local currency funded by the Egyptian state budget. Siemens Mobility is leading the turnkey supply of systems and rolling stock (including Velaro high-speed and Desiro regional trains), while domestic giants Orascom Construction and The Arab Contractors handle the massive civil infrastructure works, with Germany's Deutsche Bahn (DB) contracted to operate the network for 15 years.The financing also includes about 5.7 billion euros allocated to the local component, to be paid in Egyptian pounds, covering infrastructure works such as the construction of bridges, stations, and track overpasses, and to be implemented by Egyptian companies. The third item amounts to about 1.2 billion euros, to be paid in Egyptian pounds from the National Authority for Tunnels’ budget, and is allocated to rails, switches, fastenings, sleepers, and other project components, according to the source.The completion rate on the second and third lines has so far reached about 40%. (as of mid 2026)

History

The foreign loan financing package for Egypt's high-speed rail network was structured by Siemens Financial Services (SFS) in coordination with a syndicate of major international banks. While the financing involves a consortium of 18 international banks, the transaction's structure relies heavily on two primary European institutions acting as the lead arrangers and coordinators. Siemens won a turneky engineering project that is the highest in the country's history. It is part of a constorium with Arab Contractors and Orascom with different technical capabilities. The loan agreement through the EBRD representing different European banks is set to be repaid over 18 years. It is set to be the 6th largest HSR in the world with 41 Velaro high-speed trains, 94 Desiro regional tains, 41 Vectron freight locomotives and a 15-year maintenance contract. Orascom and Arab contractors are responsible for the track work, signaling, overhead catenary and traction power substations. Further contracts have been signed with Deutsch Bahn and ElSewedy for training engineers an technicians to be able to run the system independently.