Egypt appoints military officer as transportation minister

Change follows February's deadly train crash in Cairo

Fire fighters and onlookers gather at the scene of a train crash at Cairo's main railway station. AFP

Egypt's president is appointing a military officer to lead the country's transportation ministry, less than two weeks after its minister resigned over a deadly February train crash in Cairo that killed 25 people.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, said on Sunday that Maj Gen Kamal el Waziri, who leads the military's engineering authority, is awaiting approval from parliament to replace Hisham Arafat.

Eleven people have been arrested over the deadly accident which was triggered by a brawl between two drivers.

Egypt's run-down railway system is badly in need of an overhaul after a series of deadly crashes in recent years. It has a history of badly maintained equipment and poor management. Official figures show that 1,793 train accidents took place in 2017 across the country.