Deadly crash sparks calls for railway reform in Egypt
After a train crash earlier this month left over 40 Egyptians dead, many are calling for a new approach to addressing the chronic problems facing the country's rail system.
CAIRO — In Egypt's deadliest rail accident in years, 42 people were killed and 123 were injured when two trains collided near the Khorshid train station east of Alexandria, according to a statement by the Ministry of Health Aug. 11.
The initial reports suggested that the crash occurred because of a signal fault, causing the train traveling from Cairo to crash into the back of another that stopped suddenly, resulting in several train cars being crushed. However, the Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA) blamed both trains' conductors for the crash.
The authorities started an inquiry into the crash and arrested the conductors of both trains and their assistants for 15 days. The Public Prosecution ordered urine samples for drug testing from the train conductor who crashed into the other one. Public Prosecutor Nabil Sadiq ordered that the black boxes of the trains be recovered and for an investigative committee to look into the accident.
The ministry of transportation announced Aug. 13 the resignation of Maj. Gen. Medhat Shousha as head of the ERA. The post was handed over to Sayed Salem, who used to serve as deputy chairman for the ERA's Safety and Quality Department.
