The train lines linking Cairo and Zagazig in the Nile Delta have resumed on Saturday following a 5-hour halt, Ahram Arabic website reported.

The delay earlier was attributed to one of the rails was reported broken according to the head of the Railway Authority Samir Nawar.

Egypt has been struggling with a rundown railway system for years, even though it transports around 500 million passengers annually (1.4 million per day), according to government figures.

There have been several deadly train accidents in the country over the past two decades, including a train and school bus crash in November 2012 that killed at least 50 people.

The government has pledged to renovate the railway system. However, no clear systematic plan has been put into effect.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has repeatedly said that the government lacks the requisite funding it urgently needs to develop several sectors nationwide.