How to travel from Cairo to Aswan by train

In this article I am going to tell you about our travel experience. from Cairo to Aswan using the local train (also applies to going to Luxor from Cairo).

The train is one of the key modes of transportation for traveling around Egypt economically. And although it's not widely used by travelers (for now), it can be an interesting and unique option for exploring the country.

I'm also going to leave you one Step-by-step guide on how to buy train tickets online.

This article is part of a series of posts based on the itinerary we took at the beginning of 2020 through Egypt, Jordan and IsraelIf you want to know more about the tour, you can start there.

How to get around in Egypt

To get to the main tourist spots in Egypt, we can use different means of transportation.

Traveling by plane in Egypt

The easiest, fastest, and most expensive is obviously by plane. Egypt's flag carrier, Egypt Air, has daily flights connecting Cairo with the rest of the country. It only takes a couple of hours to reach cities like Luxor, Aswan, or near the Red Sea (Sharm El Sheik).

Traveling by bus in Egypt

Another widely used and more economical option is by land using a long-distance bus. Companies such as Go Bus Delta can also take you to almost anywhere in Egypt at very good prices. For example, the Cairo-Luxor route, which takes approximately 10 hours, can cost between USD 16 and USD 25, depending on the category.

Traveling by train in Egypt

But the option we are dealing with in this article is going to be the most economical of all: by train.

Egypt's rail service operates along its 6,700 km route. The network extends along the Nile and connects Cairo with major cities in the Nile Valley, such as Alexandria, Luxor, Esna, Edfu, and Aswan, among others.

While this medium may be the cheapest of all, the Local train costs between USD 7 and USD 15 dollarsWhen we traveled from Cairo to Aswan we only saw 2 other tourists on the train.

Which made me wonder, why isn't it full of backpackers or other travelers, given that it's a safe and cheap way to travel around Egypt?

The length of the bus trip doesn't matter, as it takes roughly the same amount of time to get to Luxor (10 hours) or Aswan (13 hours). So, in my opinion, to answer this question, we need to take into account other factors, such as:

• In previous articles, I mentioned that Egypt is a country visited mostly by people on organized tours. Therefore, long transfers are usually covered by plane to make them faster and more comfortable.

• There are two types of long-distance trains. One is usually used by locals (with seats only), and another has cabins and bunks for sleeping. The latter service is offered by a company called Abela TrainsThe prices are very expensive compared to the regular train, around USD 80 for a bed in a double cabin or USD 120 for a single cabin, but at least you travel lying down and with food included.

• There isn't much information online about traveling on Egypt's local trains. And the little I found often referred to certain restrictions that no longer apply (for example, night travel on local trains used to be prohibited, requiring a full day to travel from Cairo to Luxor or Aswan).

• Lack of knowledge about the quality of the train and insecurity among the people traveling on it.

I imagine that the sum of these factors, plus some others that I must be missing, means that traveling from Cairo to Aswan on the local train is not yet a widely used option among independent travelers.

If you want to know more information about the land of the pharaohs in general, I recommend consulting the guide to traveling through Egypt, ideal for planning your adventure.

Private tours in Cairo

The tours I recommend below contain affiliate links. This means that if you book through them, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. It's a way to support my work and help me keep this space alive, filled with stories and travel advice. Thanks for joining me along the way ;)!

Buying tickets to travel from Cairo to Aswan by train

Tickets can be purchased online from the official website of Egyptian National Railways or in person at train stations.

If you have to travel from Cairo, it's recommended not to buy them at the station itself, but rather online. I've read on other blogs that you often encounter long lines to buy tickets, and that the ticket sellers themselves often tell you there's no more space (which is a lie) or that because you're a tourist, you have to travel on the train with a cabin.

However, if you buy it online (I explain how to do it step by step below), you just have to print the ticket and board the train directly. This is the option we chose.

Later, once the train has departed, inspectors check your tickets, and if you don't have them, you can pay for them there (for an additional fee).

Train station in Cairo

Located 10 minutes drive from Tahrir Square, Ramses Station, is Cairo's main passenger railway station. Named after the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, it was built as the terminus of the first railway line between Alexandria and Cairo in 1856. In early 2011, following the Egyptian uprising, the station was completely modernized, retaining only a few details of its original construction today.

Thousands of people pass through it every day, something we noticed as soon as we arrived, a chaos like that felt throughout Cairo.

A word of advice: don't rely on the electronic information signs in the main hall, because we found that minutes before our train was due to depart, they never updated the platform it was supposed to depart from. Upon asking, a station cleaning staff member showed us where to go and escorted us to the train and the corresponding car.

What is the journey from Cairo to Aswan on the local train like?

You'll notice that at first, many people crowd to get on and sit in any free spot. This happens because many people travel without a ticket (they buy it later on the train). But since the seats are numbered, if you already have a ticket, you have nothing to worry about.

As the train leaves, and once the inspectors pass by, everyone takes their places.

There are two classes of carriages to choose from when purchasing your ticket: AC1 or AC2. Both categories are very similar. They have plenty of air conditioning (bring a coat), and the seats, while not very comfortable, recline slightly. Those in AC1 are perhaps a little wider and more spacious than those in AC2, but there isn't much difference.

We left at 7:00 p.m. for Aswan and arrived around 8:30 a.m. It's a trip that takes between 13 and 14 hours, and luckily, that's exactly how long it took.

I didn't really enjoy the trip. I actually slept very little and poorly, partly because I didn't want to leave our backpacks we had on board (you never know), and also because I could hear people talking or shouting on their phones all the time (they seem to love shouting at each other).

What I did enjoy were the views out the window at dawn. Palm trees, desert, and small villages along the Nile River give us a glimpse of life in rural areas of the country.

Finally, after 13 and a half hours, we arrived at Aswan station.

To find out which temples you can visit in Aswan, you can read the article Aswan, Abu Simbel and Temple of Philae where I tell you in detail what to do.

Step-by-step instructions on how to buy tickets to travel from Cairo to Aswan by train.

Update 2025: They have updated the official website and it seems that it is no longer possible to purchase tickets for foreigners online. However, you can check on the site These are the train schedules, journey times, and fares for Egyptians. And, if you're still interested in trying your luck, I would try going to Ramses Station and asking at the ticket counter to see if it's possible.

To buy tickets online, the first thing you must do is enter the official website of Egyptian National Railways.

You'll be taken to the Arabic page. To switch to the English version, click the red "English" button in the top left corner.

Once in the English version, you must create a user account. To do so, register by clicking the "Sign Up" button.

On the next screen, you must complete all your information, including your username, first and last name, nationality (the one shown in your passport), passport number, and more.

Note: Tickets for multiple people can be purchased with a single user.

Once you've created your user, you'll see the following screen. Click on the blue text that says "I agree to the terms and conditions above."

You'll then be taken to the train search screen. Select the departure station, destination station, car class (AC1 or AC2), departure date (in dd/mm/yyyy format), and the number of passengers.

Note: You'll only find services from the present day up to 14 days from now. Beyond that date, results are usually not returned.

On the grid, you'll see the available trains, their departure times, and the price in Egyptian pounds.

Select the train you are interested in (by clicking on the circle in the first column) and then press “Next”.

Next, they complete the passenger information, including each passenger's passport number and nationality.

We're almost done. The system shows us the reservation number, passenger list, assigned seats, and the total amount due.

Finally, we click on the green button that says “Payment” and it will take us to a screen to pay by credit card.

Once you have paid, you will be redirected to another screen where you will see the ticket that you must print and present on the train when you travel.

That's it, super simple and clear. And remember, you don't need to go to the ticket office; you can board the train directly with your ticket and present it to the inspector as they pass by the car.

A few days later we took the train from Aswan to Luxor again, but this time we bought the tickets at the station a few hours before departure (the day's services were not shown on the website).

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