Egypt reopened passenger rail traffic in the Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 8 for the first time since the June 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The service aims to create a development corridor of new cities, economic zones and further agricultural development in the region.
Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel El-Wazir is cited by Al Ahram saying the reconstruction of the railway was a gift to the people of the Sinai by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. It is part of El-Sisi’s policy of transforming the Sinai from an impoverished region that had been plagued by terrorism and criminal smuggling gangs, through economic development. El-Wazir took the inaugural ride of the Fardan-Bir Al-Abd line from Sheikh Zayed Station to Bir Al-Abd Station in Sinai.
