Egyptian court cuts train crash driver's sentence, citing technical failures

Egypt's Minya appeals court has reduced the train driver's sentence in the October 2024 crash that killed three and injured 21, citing signal-system failures.

• The court reduced the driver's sentence from 10 years to one year with a three-year suspension of execution.
• The technical report showed power-supply disruption, depleted backup batteries and a failed automatic signal system before the collision.
• The court affirmed the driver's fault: he drove 84–85 km/h against a 60 km/h limit and failed to use the ATC system.
• The court rejected the prosecution's appeal as filed after the 40-day deadline from the May 25 first-instance verdict.