Egypt railway loses $391m due to theft of tracks

Egypt is losing seven billion pounds a year ($391 million) as a result of thefts of tracks on its railway system, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported an official saying yesterday.

Warning that the railway service is at stake as a result of the heavy loses, the official said armed gangs are specialised in stealing the metal bars which causes interruptions of the service.

The Egyptian Railways Commission monitors and governs the country’s rail system which connects a number of major cities in the country. It has been forced to replace the stolen tracks in order to allow trains to continue running.

Last week, seven train accidents took place across Egypt, the majority as a result of missing tracks and equipment which had been stolen.

According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the criminal gangs cooperate with members of the railways commission as the items are often resold to the government body or sold for scrap.

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“How can the metal bars be cut without officials seeing it happen?” he asked.

The official said that the gangs carry out their work at night when there is little security.