EGYPTIAN RESTRUCTURING
Posted on 03 July 2009 by Railways Africa Editor
Egyptian National Railways (ENR) maintenance and services company managing director Essam Selim told delegates at the Africa Rail conference in Johannesburg that timekeeping and reliability of service had been improved since his unit was created to overhaul and refurbish the line’s rolling stock. Before restructuring began in 2007, late running was common and there was only about 50% rolling stock availability, largely due to shortage of spares. Customer dissatisfaction was rising and the market share for freight transport dropped from 15% in recent years to only 3%. Road transport has replaced rail in the movement of the lost traffic, and the road accident rate has increased. ENR restructuring, worth some $US2 billion, focuses on the creation of three business units – long distance, short distance and freight – with the objective of support by own resources. It has been realised that quality of service requires substantial improvement before the business can be made successful. It is hoped that the upgrading of rolling stock will help the railway regain both freight and passenger traffic.
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