Trains bound for Upper Egypt are running again as usual after being halted for 12 hours on Sunday when two trains collided in Ayyat station south of Cairo, killing 18 passengers and injuring 36.
Cabinet Spokesman Magdy Radi relayed the government's deepest condolences to victims' families. In an exclusive statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Radi denied that Transportation Minister Mohammed Mansour had submitted his resignation -- or was forced to do so -- as a result of the disaster.
"The accident doesn't mean that we have failed to modernize our rail system," said Radi, adding that the modernization process was a "long-term priority" of the government that still faced a number of "technical challenges."
According to the National Railway Authority (NRA), four rail cars were smashed beyond repair, causing more than LE50 million worth of damage. Moreover, some 8,000 passengers on the Upper Egypt line had to cancel their trips on the day of the incident, while 7,000 others were holed up in trains for 12 hours until the line could be cleared.
6th of October City Governor Fathi Saad attributed the crash to human error and not to a buffalo crossing the tracks as had been previously reported. "I hope the city of Ayyat isn't thought to be jinxed since two train crashes happened there in the past eight years," he said.
NRA Vice-President Sayed el-Sabagh had initially told investigators that the crash had been caused by a wayward buffalo, but was later quoted as saying, "I was on vacation at the time and know nothing of the matter."
By early Sunday morning, rescue operations had wrapped up and the track cleared of all wreckage.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the train signalman at Ayyat station had left his post at 6:10am, 50 minutes before the end of his shift. Ironically, he was reportedly killed in the crash after boarding train no. 152 en route to his hometown of Beni Sueif.
Investigations also found that the driver of the second ill-fated train, no. 188, had not stopped at the red "halt" signal and that his electronic control device was not working properly. Black boxes aboard both trains have been sent to authorities for analysis.
Insurance companies will immediately pay out some LE3,000 to the families of the victims, with another LE17,000 to be paid out upon completion of legal procedures.
