Alexandria railway station (Egypt)

Alexandria railway station

محطة قطار الإسكندرية
Alexandria railway station; محطة قطار الإسكندرية
train station
	Alexandria Train Station in 2008.
General information
Location	Al Marghani, Al Attarin, Alexandria Governorate 5370050; Egypt
Owned by	Egyptian Railways
Operated by	Egyptian Railways
Platforms	8
Tracks	8 above ground
Connections	Sidi Gaber railway station
Construction
Parking	yes
History
Opened	1856; 168 years ago
Rebuilt	1920
Location
Location

Alexandria railway station is the main railway terminus in Alexandria, Egypt. It is the oldest railway station in the Middle East and Africa. ^[1] It was established in 1856 coinciding with the decision of Khedive Abbas Hilmi II to establish the first railway line in Egypt linking the cities of Alexandria and Cairo in 1851, which is the second in the world after the establishment of the British railways shortly after.^[2]

In 1920, during the reign of King Fuad I, work began on expanding and rebuilding the station according to its current design. It was opened in 1927 by a Belgian company specializing in train stations. The reconstruction period took about seven years.^[1]

The station is located in Martyrs Square Central District in the city of Alexandria, and is owned and operated by the Egyptian Railways, and contains eight train platforms, ticket halls, an outdoor parking lot, administrative offices, a mosque, a restaurant, and several shops.

History

The station is the current terminus of the line, which was extended from Sidi Gaber railway station in 1876.^[3] The first station building at a location close to the current one was designed by Edwin C. Baines and built between 1856 and 1857.^[4] In 1918 a master plan for the city envisaged the rebuilding or the station.^[4] The current building was built between 1915 and 1927 by the Italian architect Antonio Lasciac.^[5]