At least 11 people were killed and another 98 were injured on Sunday when at least five carriages of a passenger train travelling north of the Egyptian capital Cairo overturned after they went off the rails, the Health Ministry said.
The accident took place near the town of Toukh in Qalubiyah province in the Nile Delta north of Cairo. A total of 60 ambulances were involved in the emergency response to ferry the wounded to nearby hospitals, said the ministry.
The train was travelling from Cairo to the coastal city of Mansoura on the Mediterranean when the accident happened around 2pm local time.
Health Minister Hala Zayed travelled to the site of the accident and visited the injured who were taken to hospitals in the nearby city of Banha.
Local media outlets said Transport Minister Kamel Al Wazir, a former army general who has been in the job for two years, was travelling to the crash site.
An investigation team from the public prosecutor’s office would inspect the site and a committee had been formed to determine the cause of Sunday’s derailing, according to officials.
No cause was given for Sunday’s accident, the second of its kind in less than a week in Egypt, where the railway service has been unreliable and accident-prone for decades but which is currently undergoing a multibillion-dollar upgrade.
Last Wednesday, two carriages from a train also travelling north of Cairo in the Nile Delta derailed, injuring 15 passengers and one rail worker.
Prosecutors said on Saturday that the April 14 derailment was caused by exceeding the speed limit in an area where repair work was in progress.
They also blamed the train driver for ignoring standard procedure when travelling through the work area.
On March 26, 20 people died and about 200 were injured when a train ran into another train making an unscheduled stop in southern Egypt.
In 2019, an engine car laden with fuel hit a wall at Cairo’s main train station, igniting a fire that killed 22 people and injured scores more.
Mr El Wazir, the transport minister, has said accidents will continue to take place until an ambitious overhaul of the railway is completed, warning passengers of frequent delays to ensure safety while the work is under way.
The government has spent 40 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.55bn) on upgrading Egypt’s railway network in the past six years and plans to spend 141 billion pounds more in the next few years to overhaul the service.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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