Kamel al-Wazir was sworn in Monday before President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi as Egypt’s new transport minister.
He takes over from Hisham Arafat, who resigned following a train accident at Cairo’s main train station that left 22 people dead last month.
Sisi met with Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli and Wazir after he was sworn in, urging that the greatest efforts be exerted to completely develop the country’s railway network.
On February 27, a train failed to stop as it arrived at platform six at Cairo's Ramses station, smashing through the buffers and a metal end railing and exploding into a huge ball of fire.
The public prosecutor said last month that a preliminary investigation indicated the driver stepped off the train to talk to another driver without pulling the hand brake, causing the unattended locomotive to speed off and hit a concrete platform.
