It is reported that the Egyptian Railways Authority has lost about EGP 70 million in January 28th 2011 to January 10th 2012 period.

As per report, the number of trains delayed due to these disruptions reached 1,720 nationwide.

The report also said that the average train delay was 45 minutes, noting that the losses were estimated in comparison to last year's revenues.

Railways Authority head Mr Hany Hegab said that the strikes forced the authority to lose time and inflicted financial damage. He added that "The losses for passengers were even heavier. The total time wasted due to the trains being suspended was 2,580 minutes in under 350 days, which is equivalent to 108 days, the highest percentage of wasted time in the history of the railroads."

According to Mr Hegab, Egypt's railways serve 1.3 million passengers daily and an average of 500 million passengers each year. Mr Hegab called on security forces to enforce the law and imprison those who suspend train service.

Since the uprising that toppled the regime of former President Mr Hosni Mubarak, people have disrupted train service as a way to force authorities to make concessions.

Around 2,000 residents of the village of Ayat in Giza blocked a railroad in June to protest against the installation of a mobile phone tower in their village. The sit in ended when construction was halted.

(Sourced from www.almasryalyoum.com)