2h 30m · Express
Cairo → Alexandria
The busiest intercity line. Frequent air-conditioned Spanish and VIP express trains run all day; the fare is low and booking ahead matters only at weekends and holidays.
Route details →9
Main rail lines
1,000+
km Cairo→Aswan
3
Train classes
Rail & intercity travel · Since 2017
The right train pass for moving across Egypt.
Egypt's railway is the cheapest and often the most comfortable way to travel between cities — but the ticketing is opaque. There are air-conditioned express trains, ordinary services, the tourist sleeper between Cairo and Aswan, and a metro that only foreigners' guidebooks call confusing. We map the network for visitors: which class to book, when a multi-leg pass beats single tickets, and how to buy without standing in the wrong queue.
How it works
Three steps to a sensible rail plan
We're a planning desk, not a ticket vendor. You book through the official Egyptian National Railways channels; we make sure you book the right thing.
01
Map your legs
List the city-to-city legs you need — Cairo to Alexandria, Cairo to Luxor, Luxor to Aswan — with rough dates. The best option for a single day-trip is rarely the best for a multi-city loop, so the route shape matters as much as the distance.
02
Pick the class
We explain the practical difference between air-conditioned express seats, the ordinary services locals use, and the private sleeper cabins. For overnight legs the sleeper saves a hotel night; for short hops the express is plenty.
03
Book the right way
We point you to the official booking method for each leg — station counter, the railways website, or the sleeper operator — and flag the legs where foreigners must show a passport or pay a separate tourist fare.
Popular legs
The routes visitors travel most
Six of the connections we get asked about constantly. The full network breakdown lives on our rail pages.
Overnight · Sleeper
Cairo → Luxor
An overnight haul best done on the tourist sleeper, which has private cabins and meals, or on a daytime express if you'd rather see the Nile valley pass by. We compare the two.
Sleeper guide →
3h · Express
Luxor → Aswan
A short, scenic daytime leg along the river. Express seats are cheap and the views are the point — we suggest which side of the carriage to sit on for the water.
Route details →
Urban · Metro
Cairo Metro
Three lines, a flat low fare, and the fastest way across central Cairo in traffic. We explain the ticket types, the women-only carriages, and the stops nearest the major museums.
Metro guide →
Connection
Aswan onward
The rail line ends at Aswan; Abu Simbel and the High Dam are reached by road or air from there. We outline the realistic onward options so the rail plan connects to the rest of the trip.
Station guide →
Regional
Delta & canal towns
Regional services reach Port Said, Ismailia, Mansoura and the Delta. Less polished than the main lines but useful for travellers heading off the standard circuit.
Network map →
Why a rail desk
The trains are easy — the ticketing isn't
Foreign visitors are sometimes told they can't buy certain trains online, sometimes quoted a tourist fare that doesn't exist, and sometimes sold a first-class seat when an air-conditioned second would have been fine. The sleeper is a separate operator with its own booking site. The metro uses a different ticket system again. None of this is hard once explained — it's just never explained in one place.
That's the gap we fill. We keep current notes on classes, fares and booking channels, and we run your specific legs through them. Read about how the desk works, check the pass types, or see the full rail network. If you already know your route, just send it over.
A typical visitor itinerary touches three or four rail legs: a quick run up to Alexandria for a day by the sea, the long haul south to Luxor, the scenic hop on to Aswan, and the metro to cross Cairo between museums. Each of those legs has a different sensible answer, and stitching them together badly is how people end up paying for a sleeper they didn't need or queuing at Ramses for a ticket they could have bought online. We treat the whole trip as one plan rather than a stack of separate fares, which is usually where the real savings and the saved hours come from. Our station guide and booking guide cover the practical side once the route is set.
No markup, no resale
We don't sell train tickets or add a fee. You book at the official price; our recommendation is whatever the timetable and fares actually support.
Quick answers
Before you book a train
For most air-conditioned express trains, yes, through the Egyptian National Railways website, though it can be temperamental with foreign cards. The Cairo–Aswan sleeper is booked separately through its own operator. We tell you which channel works for each leg you're taking.
It depends on your time. The sleeper saves a hotel night and gets you to Luxor or Aswan rested, but it costs several times the day-train fare. For travellers on a budget the daytime express is far cheaper and lets you see the Nile valley. Our sleeper guide compares both honestly.
For intercity day travel, air-conditioned second class is comfortable and cheap; first class adds a little space for a modest premium. Ordinary non-air-conditioned services are very cheap but hot and crowded — fine for short hops, less so in summer. We match the class to your leg.
Egypt doesn't sell a single national rail pass like some European countries; "pass" here means a planned bundle of legs booked sensibly. For a multi-city loop we lay out the cheapest sequence of tickets. See pass types for what that means in practice.
Day express trains rarely sell out except around major holidays; a day or two ahead is usually fine. The sleeper and peak weekend Alexandria trains fill earlier, so for those we suggest booking as soon as your dates are firm.
Tell us your route
Send the cities and dates you're travelling between and we'll map the trains, classes and the cheapest way to book.
Get a rail plan