Crystal Charles
What began as an ordinary weekend journey through Egypt’s northern desert corridor has spilled into Monday with grief, anger, and mounting calls for accountability. Two days after a passenger train derailed between Fouka and Galal stations, killing three and injuring more than 100, the wreck has become more than a transport tragedy — it is now a national reckoning.
The train, No. 1935, bound from Marsa Matrouh to Alexandria, careened off the tracks Saturday night, leaving seven carriages mangled in the desert sands. While dozens of injured passengers have since been discharged from hospitals, survivors describe scenes of chaos — families torn apart, belongings scattered, and cries for help drowned by the grinding of steel.
By Monday morning, Transport Minister Kamel El-Wazir was under increasing pressure as Egyptians questioned whether infrastructure neglect, rather than fate, was to blame. Though El-Wazir has pledged a technical probe and vowed to dismiss any negligent officials, skeptics argue that investigations often fade without meaningful reform.
“This is not an accident; it’s a predictable failure,” said one Cairo-based transport analyst. “Egypt’s rail network is a ticking time bomb when maintenance and safety protocols are ignored.”
A crisis unit continues to monitor survivors, but grief-stricken relatives of the dead have already begun funerals, transforming private mourning into public anger. For many, Saturday’s derailment feels less like an isolated disaster and more like the latest symptom of a system long in decay.
Egypt’s railways, among the oldest in Africa, recorded more than 200 incidents last year alone. Monday’s newspapers are filled with haunting questions: How many more lives must be lost before safety takes precedence over political promises?
As workers clear the wreckage from the desert sands, the scars left behind are not only on the tracks but also on a nation’s trust in its ability to travel safely. For the victims’ families, the derailment is no longer just a tragic headline — it is a painful reminder that Egypt’s railways remain a graveyard of reform still waiting to happen.
