The order boom for Siemens continues: the industrial group will build what is probably the sixth largest express train network in the world with partners in Egypt. Siemens provides railway technology and dozens of trains for 8.1 billion euros.

According to Siemens, the industrial group has received the largest order in its 175-year history. Together with two partners, Siemens Mobility has signed a contract for the construction of a 2,000 kilometer rail network for express trains, the company announced. Thus, the Munich company alone has an order value of 8.1 billion euros. This also includes 2.7 billion euros for the first route, which was agreed last year.

According to the announcement, Siemens Mobility will deliver 41 high-speed trains, 94 regional trains and 41 freight locomotives. The contract also includes rail infrastructure, eight freight depots and yards, and a 15-year maintenance contract.

Siemens: 40,000 new jobs

“Thanks to our latest technology in rolling stock, signaling and maintenance, Egypt will have the sixth largest and most modern high-speed rail network in the world,” said Siemens AG CEO Roland Busch. , when signing the contract. Siemens Mobility is working on the project with construction companies Orascom Construction and The Arab Contractors.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, who attended the signing ceremony, described the new railway network as a “valuable addition to the Egyptian transport system” and “the beginning of a new era for the railway system in Egypt. , Africa and the Middle East.

The approximately 2,000 kilometer rail network is to connect 60 cities across the country with trains that can run at speeds of up to 230 km/h. According to Siemens, the consortium will create up to 40,000 jobs in Egypt for the construction of the railway network. Another 6,700 jobs would be created at other Egyptian suppliers and in other sectors of the economy. According to Siemens Mobility, approximately 90% of the Egyptian population will have access to the new rail network.

Connection with the economic centers of the south

According to Siemens, the high-speed network will include three routes: The “Suez Canal on Rails”, announced in September 2021, a 660 kilometer route between the port cities of Ain Sochhna on the Red Sea and Marsa Matruh and Alexandria on the Mediterranean.

Added to this are the two railway lines whose contract has now been signed: a line of about 1,100 kilometers between Cairo and Abu Simbel near the border with Sudan is intended to connect the capital to the emerging economic poles of the south. According to Siemens, the third route is about 225 kilometers long. This rail link is intended to make the transport of goods and materials between the port of Safaga and the interior of the country more efficient and sustainable.