The movement of travelers and vital cargo in Egypt could soon be faster thanks to Siemens Mobility’s recently announced high-speed trains.
A new version of the company’s Velaro train, capable of speeds of 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour), was unveiled to the public in Egypt on November 9 at the TransMEA 2025 show in New Cairo.
Siemens said 41 of the 489 trains will be used in the country’s planned 2,000-kilometre (1,200-mile) high-speed network, which will connect Egypt’s major cities on three lines, reach almost 90% of the population and reduce travel times by up to 50%. The project was first announced in 2018 and is being developed in partnership with Arab Contractors and Orascom Construction.
Designed and built in Germany, the train fleet is optimized to withstand Egypt’s harsh desert climate and features advanced filtration systems and cooling equipment to combat sand, heat and dust.
Also on November 9, Siemens’ Desiro high-capacity regional train, which has a top speed of 160 km/h (99 mph), completed its first run near the October 6 depot, a new dry port west of Cairo.
The dry port, which can store 260,000 containers, is home to five rail lines and is an integral feature of the Green Line, a 660-kilometer (410-mile) network under construction called the “Suez Canal of railways” linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The line connects Ain Sokhna, south of Suez, with Cairo, Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh along Egypt’s northern coast. According to Siemens, the new high-speed rail network will increase Egypt’s freight transport capacity by 46%.
Lieutenant General Kamel El Wazir, Egypt’s Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Transport and Industry, said in a press release that DeSiro’s maiden voyage was a “defining moment in Egypt’s transportation modernization strategy.”
“This high-speed rail project will help redefine the passenger experience, reduce travel times and increase connectivity between cities,” he added.
Egypt’s high-speed rail network is not the first on the continent. In 2018, Morocco opened Africa’s first high-speed line, connecting Tangier and Casablanca at speeds of up to 320 km/h (200 mph).
Other high-speed rail projects could shake up Africa’s transportation infrastructure.
Nigeria is pushing ahead with a $60 billion 4,000-kilometre (2,485-mile) high-speed network linking Lagos and Port Harcourt, with construction led by Desadel Nigeria Limited and financing led by China Liancai Petroleum Investment Holdings Limited. Both companies submitted proof of funding in August, according to a government statement. In the same release, De Sadel CEO Samuel Yuko said the first 1,700 kilometers (1,056 miles) section could be completed in as little as three years.
The African Union also has long-term high-speed rail ambitions.
The African Integrated High-Speed Rail Network, a flagship project under the African Union’s Agenda 2063, completed its first implementation phase in 2023. The 10-year phase involved master planning and research on how to best connect major cities through rail corridors, and 17 pilot projects were identified.
The African Union believes that high-speed rail could reduce transport costs by 40% and increase intra-African trade from about 15% to more than 50% in the coming decades.
