10 additional trains operated ahead of Eid Al Fitr

CAIRO – 10 June 2018: The Railway Authority started on Sunday to operate ten additional trains as a part of the preparations made at railway stations ahead of Eid Al Fitr.

Chairman of the Railways Authority Sayed Salem announced that ten additional trains and 38 carriages are available, providing 169,000 extra seats to avoid overcrowding during Eid Al Fitr.

Salem stressed that the authority could strengthen monitoring at ticket windows to prevent its sale in the black market, which causes ticket shortage.

During Eid Al-Fitr holiday, Egypt’s railway faces congestion when families travel across Egypt to enjoy the three-day official holiday, starting June 15.

Salem referred that additional trains will have vacant seats that can be booked on the same day.

In the same context, General Directorate of Transport and Communications Police has taken several security measures and made preparations at the railway stations ahead of Eid Al-Fitr.

Police have stressed that large number of train tickets are available to cope with the increase in the number of passengers and citizens traveling for Eid with their families and to reduce crowding at stations.

Security forces have launched a major combing operation through explosive detection devices and police dogs along with e-portals to detect any explosives, weapons or drugs.

In this regard, the security agencies installed surveillance cameras at Ramses station, which are connected to an operations room to monitor and deal with any suspicious movement.

On the other hand, the Egyptian government has intensified its preparations by declaring a state of emergency in various sectors, facilities and archaeological sites.

General Mostafa Ansi, head of the General Directorate of Tourism and Antiquities Police, said that Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel Ghaffar is currently following up on security preparations around attraction areas like the Pyramids, the Cairo Citadel, Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh.

Security forces will also make sure to detect violations, impose heavy inspections over vehicles and tourist buses, and ban street vendors from going near these areas.

Ansi added that the minister has stressed that there will be heavy security presence in archaeological sites and landmarks. He also ordered checking the licenses of tourist ferries and restaurants in Cairo, Giza, Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh.

Additionally, the ministers stressed that monitoring campaigns in the markets to ensure the availability of necessary services for citizens will be intensified.

Ansi also said there is coordination between the Public Security Sector and the Central Security Sector as they raise security preparations ahead of Eid.

Eid Al-Fitr is an important religious holiday that is celebrated by Muslims worldwide; it marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

It is estimated that the Pyramids area will receive around 30,000 visitors during Eid, while the Cairo Citadel is likely to receive around 7-10,000 visitors per day.