 Once again the Egyptian railway system took centre stage on Saturday as a tragic collision between two passenger trains near Ayyat, 80km southwest of Cairo, left 18 dead and 36 injured: the last in a series of incidents attesting to criminal negligence. Following the incident, Minister of Transport Mohamed Mansour tendered his resignation -- the second official to leave office following a train accident, after former minister of transport Ibrahim El-Dumeiri resigned as a result of a train fire that killed 360 in February 2002 (photos: AFP) parent page (29 October - 4 November 2009, issue #970) |