Rail transport in Egypt
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| Reporting mark | ENR |
|---|---|
| Locale | Egypt |
| Dates of operation | 1854–present |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
| Length | 5,083 km (3,158 mi) |
| Headquarters | Cairo |
| Website | Egyptian National Railways |
Egyptian National Railways (ENR; Arabic: السكك الحديدية المصرية) is the national railway of Egypt and managed by the parastatal Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA; Arabic: الهيئة القومية لسكك حديد مصر).
In 1833 Muhammad Ali Pasha considered building a railway between Suez and Cairo to improve transit between Europe and India. Muhammad Ali had proceeded to buy the rail when the project was abandoned due to pressure by the French who had an interest in building a canal instead.
In 1848 Muhammad Ali died, and in 1851 his successor Abbas I contracted Robert Stephenson to build Egypt's first standard gauge railway. The first section, between Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast and Kafr el-Zayyat on the Rosetta branch of the Nile was opened in 1854. This was the first railway in the Ottoman Empire as well as Africa and the Middle East. In the same year Abbas died and was succeeded by Sa'id Pasha, in whose reign the section between Kafr el-Zayyat and Cairo was completed in 1856 followed by an extension from Cairo to Suez in 1858. This completed the first modern transport link between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, as Ferdinand de Lesseps did not complete the Suez Canal until 1869.
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