CAIRO, Nov. 9 — An Egypt train collision in Giza governorate has left at least seven people dead and 112 injured after two passenger trains crashed into each other, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population. The collision caused several carriages to derail, prompting President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to order an immediate investigation and demand accountability for anyone found responsible for negligence.
The accident occurred between Kafr Ammar and Al-Raqqa stations in the Al-Ayyat district. The Egyptian National Railways Authority stated that a train traveling from Giza to Fayoum (service no. 134) struck the rear of another train running from Cairo to Aswan (service no. 2010). The force of the impact caused multiple carriages to overturn and derail, with on-site footage showing severely mangled wreckage and overturned cars resting on the railway embankment.
Emergency response was swift and substantial. The health ministry deployed 72 ambulances to evacuate the injured to hospitals across Giza and the neighboring Beni Suef governorate. Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar directed all medical facilities in both governorates to raise their readiness levels and provide full support to the victims. By Sunday evening, 45 patients had been discharged after receiving treatment, while seven more were expected to be released soon. The remaining injured continued to receive care under medical observation. Authorities warned that the casualty toll could rise further, as there were reports that survivors or victims might still be trapped beneath the overturned carriages as clearance operations continued.
President El-Sisi issued a statement on Facebook expressing his condolences to the families of the victims and wishing the injured a speedy recovery. He confirmed that he was closely monitoring the situation and had directed state agencies to provide necessary medical care, conduct a swift investigation into the causes of the crash, and hold anyone found responsible for negligence accountable. The Egyptian National Railways Authority declared a state of emergency, dispatching cranes, heavy equipment, and engineering teams to clear the site and restore service on the Cairo-Aswan line in both directions as quickly as possible. A technical committee has been formed to investigate the circumstances of the collision.
Preliminary information points to a failure in the railway’s signal system as a likely cause, according to reports from the scene. The leading train had broken down and was stationary on the tracks when the trailing train, apparently without receiving notification of the obstruction, crashed into it from behind. This scenario highlights a recurring vulnerability in Egypt’s rail infrastructure: if a following train’s driver is not alerted in time to a stalled train ahead, a collision becomes difficult to avoid. The incident adds to a troubling pattern of railway accidents in the country. Official statistics indicate that Egypt recorded approximately 170 railway accidents in 2025 alone. While the government has invested heavily in upgrading and repairing the rail network leading to a gradual decline in annual accident totals—the overall safety situation remains concerning. The Al-Ayyat area is also the site of Egypt’s deadliest rail disaster, a 2002 fire on a Cairo-Luxor train that killed over 380 people.
The Chinese Embassy in Egypt confirmed that no Chinese nationals were among the casualties. The trains involved were regional commuter services primarily carrying Egyptian citizens rather than tourists. As of Sunday night, rescue teams were still working under floodlights to clear the wreckage and search the overturned carriages, with the full account of the tragedy still unfolding.
