Egypt's national railway authority plans to direct proceeds from its latest round of fare increases toward interest payments on 3 billion Egyptian pounds ($60 million) in loans due in the new fiscal year, a board member at the authority told Al Manassa, requesting anonymity to discuss internal finances.
The fare increases, which took effect July 1 and raised ticket prices on Upper and Lower Egypt trains by 12.5% to 25%, are expected to generate about 1 billion pounds ($20 million). The hike followed approval from the Ministry of Transport in March and excluded luxury and certain Russian-made trains.
By comparison, a broader fare increase in March, which applied to all train types, raised about 2 billion pounds, the board member said.
Railway management expects passenger numbers to decline following the latest increase, particularly on short-haul routes linking Cairo to governorates in Lower Egypt, which would weigh on revenue, according to the board member.
The authority projects total revenue of about 20.15 billion pounds for the new fiscal year, the board member said, with 13 billion pounds expected from ticket sales following the latest fare increase, 6.6 billion pounds from Finance Ministry support for suburban trains and student subscriptions, and 550 million pounds from G3A consortium under an agreement to manage and operate freight trains.
The final figure could, however, change depending on operating rates and demand for transport services.
Spending priorities for the year include operational costs such as spare parts, maintenance and worker wages, alongside debt servicing — chiefly the roughly 3 billion pounds in interest payments. The Egyptian government will cover repayment of the loan principal separately, the board member said.
The latest hike extends a series of fare increases since Kamel Al-Wazir took over the transport portfolio in 2019. The first came in July 2020, covering first- and second-class air-conditioned and VIP trains. A second round followed in June 2023, covering air-conditioned and luxury trains along with non-air-conditioned Russian-made and Tahya Masr suburban trains. Fares for luxury Talgo trains were raised again in mid-2025.
Egyptian National Railways operates a network spanning more than 9,570 kilometers across 23 governorates, carrying nearly 420 million passengers a year. Its fleet includes about 3,040 passenger carriages—850 of them air-conditioned—along with 8,553 freight wagons and 793 locomotives.
