According to official statistics, the total number of railway accidents from 2006 until 2016 was 12,236.

The highest accident rates were in 2009 and reached 1,577 accidents, while the lowest were in 2012 with 447 accidents, due to the traffic suspensions during the January 25 revolution.

According to statistical data prepared by the Railways Authority in cooperation with the Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the highest death rate and injuries occurred in the train accident of Manfalut in December 2012, where 51 were killed, followed by the train accident of Ayyat in 2013 where 15 people were killed and 25 others were injured.

The statistics showed that in 2016 total accidents amounted to 1,249 compared to 1,235 in 2015 and 1,044 in 2014.

Accidents from cars that crossed railroads and were hit by a train counted for 80 percent of the accidents, while accidents where trains deviated from the track made up 15 percent.

The most recent train collision on Friday occurred in the Khurshid area near Sidi Gaber station in Alexandria, leaving 42 dead and 133 injured.

Upon inspection of the scene, security sources revealed that the collision happened between a train coming from Cairo and another coming from Port Said. They crashed a few kilometers from Sidi Gaber station, when the Port Said train stopped after a sudden mechanical failure, leading the Cairo train to crash into it from behind.

Edited Translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm