Two southbound passenger trains collided at al-Ayyat, in Egypt’s Giza province, on Sunday 8 November. The toll was at least seven dead and 125 injured, according to Egypt’s health ministry, as at 8 November.
Daily News Egypt published the ministry’s figure of 125 injured, the latest count reported. Earlier counts on Sunday 8 November were lower: Egyptian Streets reported 112 injured and The National 114. The BBC reported that the public prosecutor’s office has warned the toll could rise.
How the Collision Happened
According to Egyptian National Railways, as reported by Daily News Egypt, train No. 134, a Tahya Misr service from Giza to Fayoum, ran into the rear of train No. 2010, which was travelling from Cairo to Aswan. The collision happened between Kafr Ammar and El Reqqa stations.
The Aswan train was stationary when it was hit, the BBC reported. The National, citing authorities, said it had made an unscheduled stop. Carriages derailed and fell down an embankment, according to the BBC.
The driver of the Fayoum-bound train was among the dead, The National reported. The BBC said the injuries included broken bones and head injuries. Citing the ministry, Daily News Egypt reported that most of the injured had bruises and abrasions, while others had fractures to the limbs, pelvis and spine, head and facial wounds, and chest injuries.
Hospitals and Railways Respond
Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said 72 ambulances were deployed, Daily News Egypt reported. Hospitals received 132 cases. By late on Sunday 8 November, 71 people had been discharged, 43 were still under observation and 11 had been moved to hospitals in Beni Suef.
Al-Wasta Central Hospital took 87 cases, including three of the dead, Daily News Egypt reported, citing the ministry. Al-Ayyat Central Hospital took 34, and Atfih Central Hospital took 11, including four of the dead. The bodies were placed at the disposal of the public prosecution.
The government put hospitals “on heightened alert”, the BBC reported, and the health minister ordered hospitals in Giza and Beni Suef to raise readiness, according to Egyptian Streets. Deputy health minister Amr Kandil was sent to visit the injured. The Egyptian Red Crescent gave aid and psychological support at the scene, the BBC reported.
Trains between Giza and Upper Egypt were suspended and cranes were sent to clear the wreckage, the BBC and Daily News Egypt reported. Egyptian Streets reported that buses would run between Al-Wasta and El-Ayyat, and between El-Moneib and El-Ayyat, until services resume.
The Financial Regulatory Authority raised compensation for deaths and total permanent disability from EGP30,000 to EGP50,000, as an exception, Daily News Egypt reported.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered authorities to “investigate the circumstances of the accident, and hold accountable anyone found to have been negligent”, the BBC reported. CNN reported that he offered his “sincere condolences” on his official Facebook page. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly also offered condolences and directed officials to support the families, according to Daily News Egypt.
There were calls on Sunday 8 November for the transport minister to resign, the BBC reported. Saudi Arabia sent condolences, as did Turkey’s ambassador.
What Investigators Are Looking At
Prosecutors were at the site and in hospitals to interview passengers, The National reported. A Public Prosecution team inspected the site and asked the railway authority for a specialised technical committee to examine why the carriages derailed, according to Egyptian Streets. No cause has been announced, Egyptian Streets and Daily News Egypt reported.
Al-Ayyat has seen rail disasters before. It is near the site of Egypt’s deadliest, a train fire in 2002 in which “more than 370 people were officially reported killed”, according to the BBC. Two crashes in the area in 2009 killed dozens.
In March 2021 a rear-end collision near Sohag killed 18, Daily News Egypt reported, and prosecutors later ordered the arrest of eight railway employees. CNN, which describes Egypt’s railway as the oldest in Africa and the Middle East, recalled a 2019 fire at Cairo’s Ramses station that killed 25 and a 2017 crash near Alexandria that killed more than 40.
Train accidents are not uncommon in Egypt, which has spent billions of dollars upgrading its rail network, The National reported. It named human error at level crossings and signal malfunctions as the main causes, and said the Transport Ministry is reportedly the government’s single largest borrower.
Our Transport & Infrastructure section has more rail coverage, including the high-speed train collision near Urda in Spain in October.
Sources: BBC News, “Seven dead and more than 100 injured after trains collide in Egypt”, 8 November 2026 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwvgr20mmmevo); The National, “Egypt train crash kills seven and injures 114 south of Cairo”, 8 November 2026 (https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/11/08/egypt-train-crash-kills-seven/); Daily News Egypt, “Seven Killed And 125 Injured As Two Trains Collide In Egypt’s Al-Ayyat”, 9 November 2026 (https://dailynewsegypt.com/2026/11/09/seven-killed-and-125-injured-as-two-trains-collide-in-egypts-al-ayyat/); Egyptian Streets, “Seven Killed, 112 Injured in Egypt Train Collision in Giza’s El-Ayyat”, 8 November 2026 (https://egyptianstreets.com/2026/11/08/el-ayyat-train-collision-kills-7-injures-112-in-giza/)
Photo: Abdelrhman 1990, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Egyptian National Railways passenger coaches in the Alexandria station yard, April 2023. Used for illustration; neither train in the Giza collision is pictured.
