5 citizens killed in railway crossing crash in Upper Egypt’s Luxor

Five people were killed and two others were injured after a train crashed into a minibus at a railway crossing on Tuesday in Upper Egypt’s Luxor governorate.

A source at the Egyptian National Railways (ENR) said the crash occurred while the vehicle was crossing the Karnak railway crossing in the Badran region in Luxor.

All the dead and the injured were taken to Luxor’s general hospital. The ENR said it will issue a statement on the accident once it has all the necessary information.

Railway accidents are common in Egypt due to negligence and unsafe signalling systems.

The railway system is largely operated manually, with employees responsible for managing the crossings by communicating with the drivers – a practice that is considered unreliable and unsafe.

In 2015, the government launched programmes to automate the crossings, but said that repairing and developing the railway system would take two to three years.

Source: Ahram Online