Russia, Egypt Sign Contract for Maintenance of Russian Trains in Abu Zaabal

The greatest transaction of its sort in Egyptian history will see Russia build a sizable factory in the Abu Zaabal workshop area of Egypt.

As a first step toward establishing a factory to localise the railway vehicle industry in Egypt, the Egyptian Ministry of Transport announced that Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir had attended the signing of a contract on the establishment of a workshop for the maintenance and overhaul of all types of Russian trains in the Abu Zaabal workshops area.

The National Railway Authority and TMH International AG signed the agreement.

Wazir claims that the contract calls for the creation of a new workshop in Abu Zaabal in collaboration with Transmash, a group of Russian engineering companies that specialises in locomotive construction. Transmash will create its own designs and provide the tools required for the new workshop in Egypt to perform maintenance tasks.

Along with providing technical support for a period of 12 years through 20 of its experts, Transmash will also supply spare parts for each vehicle for a period of 12 years beginning on the date the vehicle is put into service.

Additionally, Transmash will train Egyptian technicians, passing on new knowledge to Egyptian labour, enabling them to perform all manners of necessary overhauls and maintenance, as well as produce some replacement components, locally.

Wazir emphasised the significance of the agreement in carrying out the required maintenance for the agreement to purchase 1,350 train cars that had previously been reached with the Egyptian National Railways Authority.

He noted that 725 new vehicles, including 499 third class vehicles with dynamic ventilation and 226 third class vehicles with air conditioning, have already been supplied under the contract.

The building of this workshop and local spare parts production collaboration were also agreed upon with Transmash, according to the minister, and would serve as a crucial foundation for the construction of a joint factory in Abu Zaabal.

By doing this, the railway carriage business would become more regionally focused on serving the demands of the local market before beginning to export to other nations, particularly those in Africa, the Middle East, and the Arab world.