CAIRO, Jul 20 (Aswat Masriya) – Egypt's railway authority estimated on Wednesday its losses for the fiscal year 2016/2017 to reach EGP 4.5 billion, up from EGP 4.1 billion in the previous year.

The vital railway suffers from years of negligence due to the reliance on a manual system for maintenance and the signals system. The total length of the railway network reaches 9,750 km, according to the Egyptian National Railways (ENR) website.

The authority carries debts amounting to EGP 36 billion due to accumulated losses based on government estimates.

Expected revenues for the current fiscal year, as published in the state's official newspaper, reaches approximately EGP 4 billion similar to the past year.

The authority estimated its expenses to reach EGP 8.53 billion, with wages garnering EGP 3.5 billion, while EGP 5.5 billion is allocated to cover the costs of gas, spare parts and other needs.

In June, Egypt signed a letter of intent with Hungary to supply 700 railway wagons worth 1 billion Euros to renovate the Egyptian railway fleet.

Statistics show that the railway service transports around 500 million passengers annually at a rate of 1.4 million per day, according to the ENR website.