The case dates back to 26 March 2021 when a Spanish train (manufactured in Spain), crashed into the back of another standing train in the southern province of Sohag.

The court sentenced the first defendant, the Spanish train's driver, and the second defendant, his assistant, to 15 years in prison and pay a total of EGP 28,9 million compensation along with administrative expenses.

Furthermore, the court sentenced the third defendant to five years in prison and to pay a EGP 10,000 fine.

The fourth and fifth defendants were also sentenced to five years in prison each while the seventh and the eighth defendants were sentenced to two years in prison.

The Sohag Criminal Court dropped the charges against the sixth defendant after his death.

Earlier, the prosecution accused the defendants of mistakenly causing the death of 21 people as a result of their negligence, carelessness, and ignoring laws and regulations.

Egypt’s railway sector, the second-oldest in the world with 9,570km of track running across the country and transporting around 500 million passengers annually, needs to be radically upgraded, according to experts.

Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) indicated that while the number of train accidents in 2010 was 1,057, it increased to 1,863 in 2019.

Following the Sohag collision, the Egyptian government started a renovation and upgrade process for the railway network.