Throughout 2021, traffic injuries across Egypt reached 51,511, down from 2020’s 56,789, CAPMAS said in an annual report on road and railway accidents.

According to the report, road mishaps nationwide claimed the lives of 7,101 people, up from the 6,164 deaths recorded a year prior — a 15.2 percent increase.

Furthermore, Daqahliya recorded the highest annual rate of road mishaps over the last year, recording 11,630 injuries, while Luxor recorded the lowest number — 102 injuries.

Over half of all road accidents affected passengers, with 17,805 injuries recorded in 2021, whereas 12,948 injuries were recorded among pedestrians, CAPMAS.

Moreover, the most involved age group in roads accident was those under 15 years old (14,703 injuries), followed by those under 25 years old (10,134 injuries), and then people under 35 years of age (7,156 injuries).

However, people above the age of 65 were the least involved in road accidents, recording 1,178 injuries.

Railway accidents

As for railways, CAPMAS said there were 978 accidents in 2021, compared to 898 in 2020 — an increase of 8.9 percent.

Railway-related deaths also increased by 36.8 percent, with 405 fatalities recorded, up from 2020’s 296, as a result of railway mishaps nationwide.

Additionally, injuries from railway accidents totalled 769 in 2021 — a 46.5 increase from 2020’s 525.

The report did not highlight the causes of road and railway accidents, however, it said that second party-responsibility was the most common causes behind train accidents nationwide in 2021.

Egypt has upgraded, developed, and constructed several roads and highways nationwide as part of its 2014 National Road Project to overhaul the country’s road network, reduce car accidents, and facilitate and speed up movement between governorates.

Furthermore, the Egyptian government has been implementing ambitious multi-billion-pound projects to replace hundreds of old train carriages and modernise an obsolete signalling system.

The railway plan also involves improving workshops and supplying them with modern equipment, and also installing automatic train control with a speed control mechanism in response to any emergency.

The country is also setting up a monorail and high-speed train systems in cooperation with international companies in areas across Egypt.