Egypt train services resume after strike ends

Drivers return to work 'in national interest' but their pay demands are yet to be met Egyptian train services are operating at 'eighty percent' capacity on Tuesday and are expected to be back to normal by the end of the day, Nagwa Albeir, Egypt's Railway Authority spokeswoman, has told Ahram Online.Trains across Egypt had been at a complete halt since Sunday after drivers went on strike for better benefits.Albeir said workers were persuaded to end the strike for "the sake of Egypt's national interest" and had received promises their demands would be looked into.On Monday evening, one of the strike leaders, Hashim Rabeh, concurred with Albeir's remarks, saying the drivers had begun to end the strike and return to work for the sake of the nation.The demands of the railway workers and drivers, which include an additional monthly allowance of LE300 (approx. $45), are yet to be satisfied.They have already refused a 10 percent pay raise beginning in May, offered by Minister of Transportation Hatem Abdel-Latif at a meeting with the railway workers' union on Saturday afternoon.Egypt's railway is one of the oldest networks in the world, and it stretches over 5,083 km. It is notorious for its poor safety conditions. Last year alone, Egypt suffered four deadly train crashes, and in January of this year a major rail disaster in Giza left 19 dead and more than 100 injured source : Ahramonline