Egypt launches train service for Sudanese refugees to return home

Rail journey offers route home via Aswan but those returning face dangers

Sudanese families board a train in Cairo to return home to their war-torn homeland. AP

Egypt’s railways on Monday launched a train service for people from Sudan to return home, despite the conflict in their country.

Train 1940 left Cairo on Monday morning, heading to Aswan, where passengers will continue their journey on to Sudan via the Aswan High Dam Port.

Television coverage of the first trip showed hundreds of Sudanese lining up to board the train, carrying their belongings. The same train will carry regular passengers back to Cairo every Tuesday before returning to Aswan the following Sunday.

The train, equipped with third-class air-conditioned carriages, is intended to ease travel for those seeking to return to their homeland, Egypt's railway authority said. It is part of a project to assist Sudanese citizens who have sought refuge in Egypt since the outbreak of the Sudan conflict in April 2023.

Egyptian government figures indicate more than 1.5 million Sudanese have entered the country since the civil war started.

The initiative follows calls earlier this year by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which regained control of Khartoum in March, for displaced citizens to return. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly have also said the number of refugees in Egypt is exerting strain on the country’s economy and resources.

The train from Cairo will take Sudanese to Aswan, where they can continue their journey home. AP

However, returning home is not without challenges. In a report on Sudan's humanitarian crisis, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) described the situation as the "largest and most devastating displacement crisis in the world".

The conflict has displaced more than 12 million people, including 3.8 million who have fled to neighbouring countries and 8.5 million who remain internally displaced in Sudan.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported in late April that the number of Sudanese citizens returning home from Egypt surged by 44 per cent in three weeks, rising from 115,000 to more than 165,000.

The increase came after the SAF’s recapture of Khartoum and parts of central Sudan, which prompted many refugees to attempt to return. Despite this, the IOM described the conditions facing those going back as challenging and fraught with risk, with obstacles including a lack of access to food, health care and other basic services.

The UNHCR report said areas such as Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan remained dangerous, with widespread destruction, violence and severe food shortages. Many who return find themselves in regions with little infrastructure and limited humanitarian assistance, leaving them vulnerable to further displacement.

The journey itself is also perilous. According to the UNHCR, a lack of security on roads and at border areas increases the risk of being subjected to attacks, extortion or harassment. Transport is disrupted by road closures, fuel shortages and inflation, making travel expensive and unsafe for many.

While the train service provides a means for Sudanese in Egypt to return, humanitarian organisations warn that conditions in Sudan remain dire. UNHCR has called for increased international funding to address the growing needs of displaced people, with only 21 per cent of a $1.1 billion appeal target for Sudan and neighbouring countries having been reached as of March.