A collision between two passenger trains in Egypt’s Giza governorate on Sunday left 64 people injured, according to the Health Ministry, and killed the driver of one train, a Transport Ministry source said. Emergency crews transported the injured to hospitals in the towns of Al-Wasta and Al-Ayyat as railway officials worked to clear the tracks and restore service.
The National Authority for Egyptian Railways said train No. 134, known as “Tahya Misr,” which was travelling from Giza to Fayoum, collided with the rear of train No. 2010, running from Cairo to Aswan. The collision occurred between Kafr Ammar and Al-Raqqa stations, near the Gerza junction in Al-Ayyat.
The railway authority said some carriages left the tracks and passengers were injured. It did not initially provide a final casualty count. The Health Ministry later reported that 64 people had been hurt, while a source at the Transport Ministry said the driver of train No. 134 had died. The available statements did not provide details about the cause of the collision or explain the circumstances surrounding the driver’s death.
Ambulances took 54 injured passengers to Al-Wasta Hospital in neighbouring Beni Suef governorate and 10 to Al-Ayyat Central Hospital in Giza, according to the Health Ministry figures. Reports also described a large emergency response at the site. The railway authority said it had dispatched emergency teams and cranes to remove the wreckage and move the remaining carriages.
The agencies involved gave differing figures for the ambulance response. One account said 52 ambulances took part in transporting and evacuating the injured. Another report from the scene referred to 30 ambulances operating in the area. Officials had not explained the difference between those figures.
Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ordered hospitals and other health facilities in Giza and Beni Suef to raise their readiness and provide medical care to those injured. The ministry said it was monitoring patients’ conditions and arranging the treatment required at the receiving hospitals.
The Ministry of Transport also said it was following the condition of the injured and coordinating medical care. It did not immediately announce a conclusion about how the trains collided.
Social Solidarity Minister Maya Morsi directed the ministry’s social-protection leadership to coordinate with the Giza directorate and the Egyptian Red Crescent. The teams were instructed to go to the scene, assess needs and provide support and relief assistance to injured passengers and their families.
Railway operations on the Cairo–High Dam line were disrupted as crews worked to clear the site. The rail authority said it was seeking to remove the effects of the collision and restore traffic in both directions as quickly as possible. It did not provide a specific timetable for the full return to normal service.
The crash took place on a route linking the capital with Upper Egypt, and the two trains were travelling on services connecting major population centres. The collision involved the rear of the Cairo–Aswan train and the Giza–Fayoum service, according to the rail authority’s description. Authorities had not released information about the number of passengers aboard either train or how many were in the carriages that left the tracks.
Initial reports used different language to describe the number of casualties, with early accounts referring generally to injuries before the Health Ministry announced the figure of 64. Some reports also mentioned the possibility that the toll could rise, but no revised official number was included in the statements provided.
The response involved railway, health and social-support agencies. Railway crews focused on clearing the tracks and restoring service; hospitals received and treated the injured; and social-support teams were instructed to assist affected passengers and families.
Investigators will need to establish why the trains collided and what sequence of events led to the carriages leaving the tracks. No cause had been officially announced in the information available from the authorities. For now, the confirmed public account is that train No. 134 struck the rear of train No. 2010 between Kafr Ammar and Al-Raqqa, leaving 64 passengers injured and, according to a Transport Ministry source, the driver of train No. 134 dead.
