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Egypt is fabulous, and Cairo one of the most fascinating cities in the
world. There's no need to book a tour, it's easy to
travel round Egypt independently. Egyptian Railways are easily the most comfortable way to travel between
Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria, Port Said & Suez. The
views from the train can be wonderful, especially on the
Cairo-Luxor-Aswan and Cairo-Alexandria routes. Pictured
below right: A
street scene in old Cairo - visit the street called El Muiz el
din Allah, where tour groups never go, yet where 10th century
mosques are two a penny. Climb the crumbling minarets for
a view over the roofs of old Cairo.
To
check Egyptian train times...
Train times for key routes are shown below. Egyptian National Railways
now have a website,
www.egyptrail.gov.eg, and you can also download complete
timetables for Egyptian Railways lines and trains at
www.egyptianrailways.com. There is limited train information on
the Egyptian national tourist office
website
www.touregypt.net.
Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable...
The best source for train, bus and ferry times and route maps for Egypt
and all other countries in Africa, Asia, America and Australasia
is the excellent Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable - it's
probably the most adventurous timetable ever produced.
Updated every two months, it's £13.50
from any UK high street branch of Thomas Cook or online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com
(with worldwide delivery).
Buy a copy - it's an investment and an inspiration for any
traveller..!
Sponsored links:
How to buy tickets: At the station...
It's easy to buy tickets at the station ticket office when
you get to Egypt,
although a degree of patience is called
for... Cairo main station has several booking windows,
one for each class and group of destinations, so check that
you are joining the right queue. You can pay for train
tickets in Egyptian pounds, except for the deluxe Abela
Egypt sleeper which must be paid in foreign currency
(dollars, euros or pounds sterling) at the Abela Egypt
sleeper office. Alternatively, if
you don't mind paying commission, you can use a local travel
agent to buy tickets on your behalf. Except during
busy periods, it's normally easy to get
1st class tickets on the day of travel or the day before.
The deluxe overnight sleeper train from Cairo to Luxor and
Aswan often has places available if you book a day
or two in advance, but at peak tourist times it can
get fully-booked by tour groups, so pre-booking
from outside Egypt is recommended if you cannot afford to
take a chance.
If you
want to
book Egyptian train tickets in advance before you leave home,
you can book by e-mail through several Egyptian
travel agencies. Reputable agencies include
www.egyptlegend.com/trainreservation.htm, www.osoris.com,
www.egyptiants.net, and
www.safariegypt.com. Osoris charges fares about
$10 higher than the normal ticket
price, plus a $5 booking fee if you collect the tickets from their office in Cairo,
a $25 booking fee if you want them delivered to your hotel,
$25 for delivery to the airport to meet your flight, or $20 to
meet you with the tickets at Cairo railway station.
They also make a 6% credit card charge. To book, e-mail them at egypt@osoris.com,
call + 20 2 302 8561 or
fax + 20 2 3464146.
Feedback on agencies, good or bad, is always welcome. Both Osoris and Egyptlegend
have been recommended so far by travellers, though one
negative comment has been received about Egypt Legend.
How to buy tickets for the Cairo-Luxor-Aswan sleeper: call
+ 20 2 574 94 74
or fax +20 2 574 90 74
The best way to book the deluxe sleeper train between Cairo, Luxor
&
Aswan is direct with Abela Egypt who run
these trains, by phone, fax or email. Times & fares are on Abela Egypt's website, www.sleepingtrains.com.
You can in theory e-mail your booking request to reservation@sleepingtrains.com,
but travellers report that they don't usually get a reply.
Instead, fax your request to + 20 2 574 90 74 or
phone their reservation office on + 20 2 574 94 74 or + 20 2
574 92 74. Travellers report that the reservations
office responds to faxes quickly. They will give you a
booking reference and you can pick up the tickets and pay
for them (in US Dollars or Euros) at the Abela Egypt sleeper
reservation office at Cairo station. You must collect
them at least 24 hours before departure. If you cannot
pick up tickets at least 24 hours in advance, the
alternative is
to book through a travel agency as recommended above, paying
slightly higher fares plus a booking fee.
Learn Arabic numbers...
A top tip for train travel in Egypt is to learn Arabic numbers. The indicator boards at main
stations use Arabic numerals to show train numbers, departure times and platform
numbers, not western numbers. If you know Arabic numbers,
you can read these, making it easy to find your train from the
departure time, even if you can't read the destination. Similarly, your ticket will
show your train number, date of travel, coach number and
seat or berth number in Arabic numbers, not western ones.
Arabic numbers are written left-to-right, exactly like
western numbers, even though Arabic words are written
right-to-left. To print these Arabic numbers,
right-click the image and click 'print picture'.
Cairo - Luxor -
Aswan government tourist restrictions...
Since the terrorist attacks in Egypt some years ago, the Egyptian government
has put restrictions on which trains foreigners may take between Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, allegedly so that the government can
assure tourists' safety. Details are
difficult to confirm, but tourists are
definitely allowed to take (1) the Abela Egypt overnight sleeper
trains, (2) the 07:40 air-conditioned daytime express and
(3) the 22:00 overnight seats express, but not (it's
reported by several travellers, much to their annoyance) the 11:00
air-conditioned express or any of the 2nd or 3rd class non-air-con ordinary trains. It's also possible that
you will be sold a 1st class ticket but not a 2nd class
one. Insist on the specific train and class you want, and be prepared to
argue your case if necessary. If you want to travel on
a slow ordinary train, one way to get
round the restrictions is to board the train without a
ticket and pay the conductor when he comes round. Another
option if you have any trouble at the ticket office is to
find a local Egyptian travel agency willing to book for you.
There are no tourist restrictions on other routes, for
example Cairo-Alexandria, where you can take any train you
like.
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The train service between
Alexandria and Cairo is excellent. There are broadly two sorts
of train: Modern air-conditioned express trains
with comfortable 1st & 2nd class, not dissimilar to
European trains, and ordinary trains with very basic
non-air-con 2nd & 3rd class (plus air-con 2nd class on some
trains). A 1st class
one-way ticket for an air-conditioned express from Cairo to
Alexandria costs about LE 25, less than £3 or $5..!
Cairo
► Alexandria
|
|
Train
type: |
Exp |
Exp |
Exp |
Turbo |
Exp |
Ord |
Exp |
Exp |
Ord |
Exp |
Ord |
Exp |
Ord+ |
Exp |
Turbo |
Exp |
|
Cairo
depart |
depart |
0445 |
0600 |
0645 |
0800 |
0810 |
0825 |
0900 |
0930 |
1000 |
1100 |
1115 |
1200 |
1210 |
1310 |
1400 |
1410 |
|
Alexandria arrive |
arrive |
0710 |
0900 |
0955 |
1010 |
1050 |
1245 |
1110 |
1215 |
1405 |
1340 |
1415 |
1425 |
1540 |
1625 |
1610 |
1710 |
Cairo
► Alexandria (continued)
|
|
Train
type: |
Ord |
Exp |
Exp |
Ord+ |
Exp |
Exp |
Ord |
Exp |
Ord |
Exp |
Turbo |
Exp |
Exp |
Exp |
Exp |
|
Cairo |
depart |
1420 |
1500 |
1510 |
1530 |
1600 |
1700 |
1705 |
1800 |
1815 |
1830 |
1900 |
2000 |
2030 |
2100 |
2230 |
|
Alexandria |
arrive |
1835 |
1720 |
1750 |
1810 |
1900 |
1940 |
2040 |
2010 |
2130 |
2150 |
2110 |
2245 |
0010 |
2340 |
0100 |
Turbo
= Extra-fast train, until recently operated by a French
gas-turbine 'turbotrain', but as of December 2007 operated by
normal air-conditioned express carriages
as the fuel-thirsty turbotrains are reported as too expensive
to continue to maintain. Air-conditioned 1st &
2nd class with refreshments. Recommended.
Exp
= Air-conditioned express, comfortable 1st
& 2nd class with refreshments. Recommended.
Ord =
Ordinary train, not normally used by tourists. Basic 2nd & 3rd class.
'Ord+' - also has air-conditioned 2nd class.
How to buy tickets. Fares are
shown below. You can check times at
www.egyptrail.gov.eg.
Cairo-Alexandria is 208km (129 miles)
Alexandria ► Cairo
|
|
Train
type: |
Ord |
Exp |
Exp |
Exp |
Exp |
Turbo |
Exp |
Ord+ |
Exp |
Exp |
Ord |
Exp |
Exp |
Exp |
Ord |
Turbo |
|
Alexandria |
depart |
0455 |
0600 |
0610 |
0700 |
0710 |
0800 |
0815 |
0910 |
1000 |
1100 |
1115 |
1200 |
1240 |
1300 |
1320 |
1400 |
|
Cairo |
arrive |
0845 |
0900 |
0930 |
0910 |
0950 |
1010 |
1055 |
1310 |
1240 |
1330 |
1420 |
1515 |
1530 |
1600 |
1715 |
1610 |
Alexandria
► Cairo (continued)
|
|
Train
type: |
Exp |
Exp |
Ord |
Ord |
Exp |
Ord |
Exp |
Ord+ |
Exp |
Exp |
Turbo |
Exp |
Exp |
Exp |
Ord |
Exp |
Exp |
|
Alexandria |
depart |
1500 |
1530 |
1540 |
1600 |
1700 |
1710 |
1730 |
1740 |
1800 |
1810 |
1900 |
1910 |
1930 |
2000 |
2010 |
2100 |
2215 |
|
Cairo |
arrive |
1705 |
1810 |
1845 |
1945 |
1950 |
2120 |
2045 |
2140 |
2020 |
2035 |
2110 |
2215 |
2200 |
2245 |
2355 |
2340 |
0045 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
An air-conditioned express... |
|
Air-conditioned 1st class |
|
Air-conditioned 2nd class |
Fares:
|
1st
class
air-con
express |
2nd
class
air-con
express |
2nd class non-AC
ordinary
train * |
|
Cairo - Alexandria (Turbo train) |
LE
40 (£4
/ $8) |
LE
25 (£2.50
/ $4) |
- |
|
Cairo - Alexandria (Express train)
|
LE
35 (£3.50
/ $7) |
LE
21 (£2
/ $3) |
- |
|
Cairo - Alexandria (Ordinary train) |
- |
LE
16 (£1.60
/ $3) |
LE 7 (£1 / $2) |
*
allegedly not offered to foreigners.
LE = Egyptian pounds. If you have an ISIC student
card, this gives you a 33% reduction.
Children aged 0 to 3 travel free, children 4 to 9 travel at
half fare, children 10 and over pay full fare.
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You
can travel between Cairo, Luxor and
Aswan on 4 different types of train:
▶
Overnight deluxe sleeper train (1- & 2-bed sleepers
& lounge
car, shown as sleeper below, see photos below, recommended)
▶
Overnight air-conditioned express trains (with seats, also
shown as Exp in the timetable below)
▶
Daytime
air-conditioned express trains (shown as Exp in the
timetable below, recommended)
▶
Daytime ordinary slow trains, not air-conditioned, not
normally offered to tourists, (shown as Ord below).
Each of these trains is described
below. In this
timetable, recommended trains are in bold.
Cairo ► Luxor
► Aswan:
|
|
Train
type: |
Exp* |
Exp |
Exp |
Ord |
Ord+ |
Exp |
Ord+ |
Ord+ |
Ord+ |
Exp |
Ord+ |
sleeper |
sleeper |
Exp |
Exp |
Exp* |
Exp |
|
Alexandria |
depart |
- |
2215 |
- |
- |
0710 |
- |
- |
- |
1245 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1810 |
- |
- |
|
Cairo |
depart |
0030 |
0115 |
07:40 |
0745 |
1010 |
11:00 |
1245 |
1405 |
1600 |
1845 |
1915 |
20:00 |
20:30 |
2045 |
2100 |
2200 |
2250 |
|
Giza |
depart |
0050 |
0135 |
08:00 |
0805 |
1030 |
11:20 |
1305 |
1425 |
1620 |
1905 |
1935 |
| |
| |
2105 |
2120 |
2220 |
2310 |
|
Luxor |
arr/dep |
0940 |
1025 |
17:35 |
1935 |
2000 |
20:55 |
2330 |
0025 |
0245 |
0405 |
0525 |
05:10 |
05:25 |
0555 |
0620 |
0715 |
0830 |
|
Isna |
arrive |
1025 |
- |
18:20 |
2021 |
- |
21:39 |
- |
- |
0331 |
0450 |
0612 |
| |
| |
- |
0707 |
0800 |
| |
|
Edfu |
arrive |
1110 |
- |
| | |