The prosecution issued orders to detain the train driver and the workers at Qalyoub train station pending investigations into the reasons for the crash.

According to the prosecution’s early investigations, the train was derailed as a result of colliding against the concrete buffer stopper at the station.

The prosecution added that witnesses at the station said that the train driver ignored the semaphore signal and was driving at high speed. 

The investigations also revealed that the train driver disconnected the automatic train control “ATC” and brakes which led to the train collision.

The driver’s assistant said that the driver disconnected the ATC because it broke down.

He said that the driver wanted to stop at Qalyoub station because it was the first stop during the trip and that the train driver wanted to ask for support and assistance there.

The Egyptian National Railways (ENR) said on Tuesday that passenger train 557/3027 on the Shubra El-Kheima - Kafr El-Zayat line crashed at Qalyoub train station at 7:20 pm.

The train failed to heed the semaphore signal and crashed into the buffer stopper, which caused the locomotive and the front car to derail, the ENR added.

There were injuries among the passengers who were riding in the cars between the locomotive and the front car, the ENR noted.