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Wednesday, 8 August 2018

Railway Authority to purchase equipment to measure health of railway track from Austria’s Plasser & Theurer under EUR 6.8 mn contract

Railway Authority to purchase equipment from Austria’s Plasser & Theurer under EUR 6.8 mn contract; will use the gear to to measure health of railway track: Egypt’s Railway Authority signed a EUR 6.8 mn agreement with Austria’s Plasser & Theurer yesterday to purchase the latter’s railway track surveying vehicle, the EM100U. The vehicle uses ultrasonic waves to measure the health of railway tracks and detect flaws, according to a cabinet statement. Transport Minister Hisham Arafat said the equipment is expected to help the government accurately determine weak points in the country’s railway track network, which require immediate attention, adding that he expects the vehicle to complete a full sweep of tracks across the country within a month.

Why is such a small contract getting such big play? Dozens of people were injured when two trains derailed last month, one each in Upper Egypt and Giza. Preliminary findings had suggested that a lack of maintenance on the track was responsible. The government had begun to take steps to overhaul the railway sector earlier this year, after a train collision in Beheira left 12 people dead and 39 others injured. Among the steps was the passage of amendments to the Railway Act that allow the private sector to participate in developing, managing, and operating railway projects.

This comes as we hear that France’s Systra won a EGP 50.2 mn contract to carry out the design work and plans for the extension of the Cairo Metro Line 2. The National Authority for Tunnels rejected the offer submitted by Lebanese consultants Khatib & Alami, which did not meet tender requirements, sources close to the matter tell Al Mal. The list of bidders had also included Egis Rail, Setec, Artelia, and Dar Al-Handasah. The extension of Line 2 to Qalyub is expected to cost EGP 10 bn and comes as part of the government’s plans to upgrade railway services.

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