(AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI)
Trains travelling between Cairo and Alexandria were halted Sunday morning when a bomb exploded and damaged parts of the railway. The incident is the 11th of its kind in February .
The explosion took place 200km down from Cairo to Alexandria, in the Tanta neighbourhood of Kafr Dima Shoubra, and no injuries were reported, according to state run news agency MENA.
Over the past week, five bombs exploded on railways from Cairo to Alexandria, Cairo to Aswan, and Giza, while two exploded on the Cairo-Tanta and Gharbeya railways. The explosions delayed up to seven trips per day in both directions, and damaged the rails for a distance of up to 80km.
Small bomb explosions have become a frequent occurrence since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Usually the perpetrators are unidentified, but government sources often point to members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Egypt’s railways are not only popular for being the world’s oldest after Britain, and for transporting nearly 1.5 million Egyptian citizens a day, but also for its deteriorated train cars and frequent deadly accidents over the past two decades.
The quality rank of Egyptian railways was 78 in 2014, falling from 63 in 2013, according to the latest World Economic Forum report.
Furthermore, two trains caught fire earlier this month on the lines of Menufiyah-Beheira, and Zagazig-Tanta, with no injuries reported. A train travelling between Alexandri and -Matrouh has also deviated from its track twice in February
Moreover, in 2014, rails of up to 226km were stolen on the Qena-Safaga line along the Red Sea, permanently suspending the trip. The remaining part of the line was turned into a train maintenance workshop.
