Railways activate $82M Austrian equipment deal after four-year delay

Egypt’s National Railways Authority (ENR) has activated an $82 million contract with Austria’s Plasser & Theurer to import 14 track maintenance machines following a 15% down payment, an authority board member told Al Manassa.

The deal—the authority’s largest single purchase of maintenance equipment—had been stalled for four years due to a severe foreign currency shortage. Unfreezing the contract follows Egypt’s 2024 macroeconomic bailout package, though the government has since imposed an annual EGP 1.5 trillion (about $28.8 billion) public investment cap to contain soaring public debt.

ENR paid roughly $12.3 million to the Austrian manufacturer after securing local-currency bank loans to open letters of credit. Delivery of the 14 machines is expected within a year, aimed at modernizing track renewal and routine maintenance across the national rail network.

The acquisition marks ENR’s second-largest equipment contract to date, bringing its total maintenance fleet to approximately 67 machines once operational. Over the decade between 2013 and 2023, the authority imported 17 machines, relying alongside 36 legacy units supplied more than 35 years ago.

With the new machinery in service, ENR plans to handle routine track maintenance primarily through its specialized subsidiaries rather than external contractors.

The state authority oversees eight operating companies, including three dedicated to track renewal: the Egyptian Railway Maintenance and Services Company (ERMAS), the Egyptian Company for Railway Track Renewal and Maintenance (ERTRAC) and the Egyptian-French Company for Railway Track Maintenance and Renewal (EGYFRAIL).

The contract was originally agreed during the 2021–2022 fiscal year before currency shortages halted implementation. Despite unfreezing the deal, ENR recorded a net loss again in the 2025–2026 fiscal year, driven largely by mounting debt-servicing costs as general government debt reached 95.3% of GDP in 2024–2025.