Since mid-August, rail passengers in Egypt have been able to book their tickets online, according to an announcement at the time by the Egyptian National Railways (ENR).

The move was made in cooperation with Egypt’s digital payment infrastructure developer, eFinance.

Customers can book the tickets on the ENR website via this link or use the authority’s Android and iOS apps.

So far, the service is only available to Egyptian nationals, as the website for foreigners is still under construction.

Passengers can pay for the tickets via bank cards or e-payment methods. They can then print the ticket or save it to their phone to board the train without having to go to the ticket office.

Customers can book the tickets up to 15 days before their scheduled journey, and each can book up to four tickets daily.

In case of cancellation, money is refunded to the customer’s payment card after the prescribed fees are deducted within 14 working days.

Fawry e-payment option
 

On Saturday, the ENR expanded the service, allowing passengers to book train tickets for third-class air-conditioned and dynamic ventilation via the nationwide 320,000 Fawry e-payment system outlets.

The service allows passengers to book tickets for trains travelling between Lower Egypt (Nile Delta) and Upper Egypt, which is home to many governorates, including Luxor and Aswan.

The step aims to reduce wait times at railway station ticket offices, the ENR said.

Customers will be able to get the tickets from the Fawry outlets, which operate around the clock, and head directly to the railway station to board the train, the ENR added.

However, customers will still need to visit ticket offices if they want to cancel their tickets and get a refund.