The head of the railway department in Egypt, Medhat Shousha has handed in his resignation following the deadly collision that killed 41 people and injured 179 on Friday, reports Al Ahram.
Hesham Arafat announced at a news conference after meeting the prime minister Sunday that he had accepted Medhat Shousha’s resignation.
The train was traveling from Cairo to Alexandria when it crashed into the rear of a train headed to Alexandria from Port Said, which was parked at the Khorshid station. The crash has been blamed on the manual operation system and poorly developed infrastructure, according to the country’s transport Minister Hesham Arafat.
The drivers of the two trains are on a 15 day detention and eight railway officials have been suspended.
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has said that those responsible “should immediately be held accountable and shown no leniency, regardless of their positions.”
El Sisi ordered for a quick upgrade of railway infrastructure, such as the electronic signal system to be implemented nationwide to “limit this kind of accident and improve passenger safety procedures.”
“Egyptians have long complained that successive governments have failed to develop the country’s dilapidated transport network and guarantee basic railway safety standards,” says Al Ahram.
