Contents
While travelling in Egypt, I got a chance to travel on a train between Luxor and Cairo. This video is based on that journey. I have shared a few important information in the ‘Egypt Train guide’ which may be useful for people planning to travel in Egyptian trains.
Type of trains in Egypt
In general, there are Airconditioned and Non-Airconditioned trains in Egypt. The non-airconditioned trains are the ordinary trains which do not have a provision of reserved seats. Whereas, the airconditioned trains can be categorised as –
1. VIP trains
All the coaches are chair cars. They can be further classified into 1st and 2nd class. The first class coaches have 3 seats in a row, where 2 are joint and an aisle separates the third one. The 2nd class coach has 4 seats in a row. 2 seats on either side.
2. Non-VIP trains
Like VIP trains, all the coaches are chair cars, but they are not premium as the VIP trains are. These trains also have 1st and 2nd class coaches.
3. Sleeping trains
Egypt’s ‘Sleeping trains’ are airconditioned and have sleeper berths. They are the most premium trains in Egypt. Berths can be booked online as well as over the counter for Sleeping trains.
4. Ordinary train
In India, such trains are called ‘Passenger’ trains. They are non-airconditioned and do not have reserved seats. So the seats are available on first come first serve bases.
Egypt train fare
Train fare in the non-airconditioned trains is the cheapest. Then comes the Non-VIP train’s 2nd class seats. The 1st class fare of Non-VIP trains and 2nd class of Non-VIP trains are almost similar. The 1st class of VIP trains are the costliest in the chair car segment. If you are looking for more comfort, then a berth in a sleeping train is the most expensive of the lot.
Ordinary trains are the cheapest way to travel in Egypt
How to book train tickets in Egypt
- The tickets can be booked at the railway station counters.
- Tickets can also be booked online through the official website of Egyptian National Railways
- You can also use the Kiosks at various railway stations to book the train tickets, though they were not working when I tried to use them at Ramses station in Cairo and Luxor train station.
Egypt train apps
There are many travel apps for getting help to understand the Egyptian train system. I used two apps (‘Rail Egypt’ and ‘Egypt trains’) during my trip. Please check the video for a demonstration of using the train applications and further details.
