Egypt revives 50-year-old railway in Sinai development push

Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir opens first passenger service for half a century on line linking Al Ismailia with Bir El Abd in the north-eastern peninsula

A passenger train makes the first journey on the line through the Sinai Peninsula for 50 years on Monday. Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Transport

Egypt's Transport Minister on Monday marked the first passenger service in 50 years on the railway linking Al Ismailia and Bir Al Abd, signifying a milestone in government efforts to develop the Sinai Peninsula, home to vast expanses of mountains and desert.

The revamped line is part of projects aimed at boosting living standards and countering the threat of insurgency, as well as discouraging other countries, particularly Israel, from seeking to relocate Palestinians to the area. The track connects the Suez Canal city of Al Ismailia with Bir El Abd, a small city in North Sinai province about 120km from the Rafah border crossing into Gaza.

A train left on Monday with Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir on board, who said the service would be free of charge in its first week of operations. The railway, officially named the Al Fardan-Bir Al Abd line, has already carried its first freight train, which made a maiden journey on August 6 loaded with 25 containers of goods, Egypt's State Information Service said.

The project constitutes the first phase of a larger network of roads, railway lines and other services that will connect the coastal city of Al Arish in North Sinai to Taba in South Sinai, a tourist hotspot 10km from the Israeli port city of Eilat. The construction drive is aimed at supporting industrial operations, as well as regular travel, Mr El Wazir said on Monday. The full network is expected to be completed in 2030, featuring 500km of rail track.

Al Arish has in the past year been receiving Gaza-bound aid shipments and wounded Palestinians fleeing Israel's assault. More than 41,900 civilians have been killed in Gaza in the past year as Israeli forces lay waste to infrastructure.

Egypt has been stepping up efforts to develop the Sinai Peninsula since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, with a focus on improving infrastructure and connectivity, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said last October. Officials aim to dissuade other nations, notably Israel, from trying to move Palestinians to the region, Mr Madbouly said.

Proposals to relocate Palestinians to Sinai date back to the era of British colonial rule in Egypt when the idea was put forward by Zionist figures such as Theodor Herzl, Vladimir Jabotinsky and David Ben Gurion. It has been met with vehement refusal from Egyptian governments on each occasion.

Another aim of development in Sinai is to address "security concerns", Mr Madbouly said. A low-level ISIS insurgency became active in the peninsula after the 2011 uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak. The insurgency was defeated in 2020 by a coalition of Egyptian military officers and a union of armed Bedouin tribes, which has since emerged as one of current President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's main allies in Egyptian society.

Egypt's relations with Israel have become increasingly strained in recent months over the Gaza war, which expanded last month to air strikes and an invasion of Lebanon in an offensive against the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has condemned Israel's actions, referring to "grave violations" of international law and calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon. The ministry has also praised international efforts to halt arms exports to Israel and reaffirmed support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Tension between the two countries has escalated further since Israel's attacks on Lebanon, which have displaced more than one million people and killed thousands.