Egyptβs trains are cheap by Egyptian standards, slow by European ones, and the booking system is built around locals. That last part is what trips visitors up. This guide covers how Egypt trains are organised for tourists, what foreigners pay, where to buy tickets and which routes are worth taking. It sits alongside our guides to getting around Egypt and domestic flights.
How the Egyptian National Railways network works
Egyptian National Railways (ENR) runs the state network. It is a spine along the Nile from Alexandria through Cairo to Aswan, plus a Delta web and a line along the Mediterranean towards Marsa Matruh. There is no rail link to the Red Sea resorts or to Sinai, so Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab need a bus or a flight.
The trains you will meet fall into rough tiers:
- Talgo: Spanish-built, fastest and most comfortable on Cairo-Alexandria, with first and second class.
- VIP and Express: air-conditioned seated trains on the Nile Valley and Alexandria lines.
- Russian and third class: slow, crowded, cheaper, and not where we would put a first-time visitor.
- Abela sleepers: a separate private operator running overnight cabins to Luxor and Aswan, covered below and in our sleeper train guide.
Foreigner fares: the USD pricing system
Since December 2022 foreign visitors pay a separate, higher tariff in US dollars rather than Egyptian pounds. The change was announced by the transport ministry and reported by Ahram Online. Egyptian citizens and residents still pay the pound fare, which is why the numbers below look nothing like the EGP prices in older blog posts.
Approximate Cairo-Alexandria foreigner fares, as of 2026 (one way, air-conditioned):
| Train | First class | Second class |
|---|---|---|
| Talgo | $50 | $40 |
| VIP Express | $40 | $35 |
| Express | $40 | $35 |
Children aged 4 to 9 pay half fare, under-4s travel free, and anyone 10 or over pays the full fare. Fares move, so treat these as a guide and confirm the figure at the window.
For Cairo to Luxor and Cairo to Aswan on day trains, we could not find one dated official tariff, and published figures vary widely. Expect to pay noticeably more than the Alexandria fares and ask at the counter before you commit. The sleeper is the better-documented product on these routes, and a day train takes 9 to 11 hours to Luxor and 12 to 14 to Aswan.
Booking: the ENR app limitation and what works
The Egyptian National Railways website and app sell at Egyptian citizen prices. For a foreigner they are useful for timetables and for seeing whether a train is full, but not for buying a foreigner ticket. Older advice, including on some pages of this site, suggested you could simply book through the app; that no longer matches how foreigner tickets are sold.
Your realistic options:
- Station foreigner window. At Cairo Ramses, go to the Arab and Foreign Reservation Office upstairs. Elsewhere look for a tourist ticket window. Bring your passport. Payment is in US dollars or euros, and cards are accepted at the Cairo office with a fee of around 2.5%. Clean, undamaged notes avoid arguments.
- Booking agents. Third-party sites sell foreigner tickets for express trains, usually opening about two weeks ahead and closing around two days before departure. They charge a markup and tickets are delivered by a local agent or collected at Ramses. You can also compare train and bus options on Omio when planning the whole route.
- Sleepers direct. Abela sells through its own site and offices, see below.
Book Friday and holiday departures early, because Egyptian families travel on the same trains. Our public holidays guide lists the busy dates.
Cairo to Alexandria by train
This is the route most visitors actually ride. The distance is about 208 km and a Talgo takes roughly 2 hours 30 minutes, with around 30 or more departures a day across all train types and the faster services concentrated in daytime. Trains leave from Ramses.
In Alexandria most Cairo trains call at Sidi Gaber, about 3 km east of the main Misr station, which is more central. Sidi Gaber suits hotels on the eastern corniche, but check which station your ticket names before you pay. Our Getting to Alexandria page compares the train with the bus, and Cairo vs Alexandria helps you decide whether a day trip or an overnight is better. If you only have one day, a guided Alexandria day trip from Cairo removes the logistics.
Cairo to Luxor and Aswan
Day trains to the south run from Ramses and call at Giza. A VIP train leaving Cairo in the morning reaches Luxor in the evening and Aswan late at night, which is a long day in a seat. Most travellers choose the overnight Abela sleeper or fly. Between Luxor and Aswan the express takes around two hours and is one of the pleasanter short rides in the country, see Getting to Aswan and Getting to Luxor. To arrange the sightseeing end, browse Luxor tours.
Abela sleeper trains
The sleepers are run by Abela, not ENR, and sold only through Abela channels (abelatrains.com and its offices, plus some agents). As of 2026 indicative one-way fares per person are around $110 for a Standard berth shared with a same-gender traveller and about $125 for Elite, with sole occupancy around $150 and $170. Dinner and breakfast are included. Booking typically opens four to five months ahead and Easter and winter peaks sell out.
The practical change to know: since October 2024 the sleepers leave from Cairo Upper Egypt (Bashtil), about 7 km west of Ramses, with no nearby metro. Take a taxi or ride-hail, and allow time for bag X-ray at the entrance. Giza station is an alternative boarding point reached by metro. Full detail is in our Cairo-Luxor-Aswan sleeper train guide, and the Cairo getting-there page covers arriving by train from the south.
Safety and reliability caveat
Be realistic. Egyptβs rail network has a history of accidents, and 2025 and 2026 included a passenger derailment on the Matrouh line and a freight collision in Giza that pushed trains onto single-track working and caused delays on the Cairo-Aswan line. Most tourist journeys pass without incident, but delays of an hour or more are normal, so never plan a same-day international flight connection around a train. Choose Talgo, VIP and Abela services over third class, keep valuables on you, and read the UK governmentβs Egypt travel advice alongside our Egypt safety guide.
Train, bus or flight?
On Cairo-Alexandria the train is the best option when you want the central station and a fixed seat. For Luxor and Aswan the sleeper is the experience, while a short domestic flight wins on time. For the Red Sea and Sinai the choice is bus or air. Back in Cairo, a half-day with a local guide works well around a station transfer.