Professional protests and labor strikes blocking railways over the last week have caused 7 million passengers delays amounting to 300 hours, according to a report by the Egyptian railway authority, which said it has suffered losses nearing LE1 million.
The report, a copy of which was obtained by Al-Masry Al-Youm, said that since last Wednesday, railroads across the country have seen more than 15 protests for reasons from gas shortages to government appointments. It said the demonstrations caused delays to about 80 trains, with an average delay time of 220 minutes for each journey.
The authority's director, Hany Hegab, warned that If protests maintain their current rates, the 500 million passengers who use railroads annually will lose nearly 800,000 minutes of their time, which it described as a "horrifying" rate. It explained that Upper Egyptians who rely on the railroad to travel to Cairo will be largely affected.
Hegab called on protesters to keep away from the railroads, which he described as a vital means of transport which has no alternative, unlike motorways where, he explained, passengers can change course if the road is blocked by protests.
Edited Translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
