Egypt’s 155mph high-speed trains unveiled

Travelers and critical cargo in Egypt could soon be moving faster thanks to high-speed trains recently unveiled by Siemens Mobility.

The company’s new version of its Velaro train, capable of speeds of 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour), made its public debut in Egypt at the TransMEA 2025 show in New Cairo on November 9.

Forty-one of the 489-capacity trains will be used on the nation’s planned 2,000-kilometer (1,200-mile), high-speed network, which will connect Egypt’s major cities across three lines, be accessible to nearly 90% of the population, and slash travel times by up to 50%, according to Siemens. The project was first announced in 2018 and is being developed in partnership with Arab Contractors and Orascom Construction.

The fleet of trains, which was designed and is being constructed in Germany, has been optimized to withstand Egypt’s harsh desert climate, and features advanced filtrations systems and cooling to counter sand, heat and dust.

Also on November 9, Siemens’ Desiro High-Capacity regional train, with a top speed of 160 kmph (99 mph), completed its first journey near the 6th of October Depot, a new dry port west of Cairo.