Egypt’s Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir announced Tuesday that preparations are underway to begin construction of a new railway station in the area of Bashteel in Giza over an area of 32 acres, in order to relieve pressure from the Ramses station.
In an interview with “Masa’a dmc” (DMC Evening), on the sidelines of his tour in Ramses train station, Wazir explained that the ministry would create a new station to receive the trains to reduce pressure from the main Ramses train station.
According to Wazir, the order to build the station comes directly from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as Wazir’s first order after taking over as Transport Minister.
The Ramses train station dates back to 1853, and was known back then as the “Bab al-Hadid (Iron Gate)”, which was the location of director Youssef Chahine’s famous film “Cairo Station” (1958).
The Ramses train station receives about 20 percent of the total daily commuter traffic (about 300,000 passengers) coming and departing through 130 trains, out of a total of about 856 trips a day.
Wazir added that he insists on continuing to visit Ramses station and the railway authority to follow up the development process that he talked about in the last period.
He added that work within the Railways Authority continues to provide good service to citizens and visitors from all over the world.
Former Transport Minister Hisham Arafat previously announced in January a contract for the implementation and construction of the first phase of the railway service complex in the Bashteel at a total cost of LE350 million.
The project aims at investing the land of Bashteel in North Giza in two main activities: the services required for the Egyptian Railways Authority in phase one and the second phase is an investment project in commercial fields, administrative fields and future train stations, Arafat said.
He stated that the Railway Authority contracted with the Nile Company for the construction of roads on January 1, to implement the first phase of the project, which is scheduled to be completed within two years.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
