Hundreds of Sudanese depart Cairo on train journey back home
CAIRO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- With smiles and a sense of optimism, 900 Sudanese left the Egyptian capital Cairo on Monday on a free train journey back to war-torn Sudan.
Departing Egypt, Sudanese were lining up outside Ramses railway station, the central train station in Cairo, to begin a journey home in a train that takes them to the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, where they will take ferries and buses to enter Sudan.
Sarah Mohamed, a 33-year-old mother of two kids, told Xinhua, "I'm happy because I'm finally going back to my house to see my parents."
Mohamed, originally from Sudan's capital city of Khartoum, fled to Egypt a year ago, due to the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Mohamed was living in Faisal, a vibrant and bustling district in Egypt's Giza province, which hosts thousands of Sudanese refugees.
"Since the liberation of Khartoum, with no hesitation, I decided to go home, even with the lack of electricity and water in some areas," noted Mohamed.
She added that her relatives in Khartoum said that security conditions have become stable, though commodity prices are somehow rising for the moment.
Last week, Egypt's National Railways Authority launched a special train to facilitate the voluntary return of Sudanese in Egypt.
According to the authority's statement released on Monday, train No. 1940, an air-conditioned third-class service, departed from Cairo Station at 11:00 a.m. local time and will arrive at the High Dam Station in Aswan at 11:40 p.m.
All Sudanese nationals wishing to return can register via WhatsApp. A confirmation message takes five days, said Omaima Abdullah, head of the Voluntary Return Committee for Sudanese in Egypt.
Applicants need to submit their details to prove their nationality, and the committee will contact them with travel dates and ticket numbers, Abdullah told Xinhua, noting that any Sudanese, whether they came to Egypt legally or not, can apply for the journey.
On March 26, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council and commander of the SAF, declared that "Khartoum is free," referring to the end of the RSF's control over the capital.
Mohamed Elwan, a 20-year-old Sudanese student, said he loves his time in Cairo, but has to return home to resume his university education.
"I lived here for 18 months in very good relations with the kind Egyptian people. I will miss the vibes and glamour of the most populous Arab city of Cairo," the young man said while taking farewell photos with some Egyptian people near the station entrance.
Sudanese ambassador in Cairo, Emad el-Din Adawi, accompanying the returnees, told reporters that after the Sudanese army restored control of Khartoum, "it is the moment for stability," adding that the first step for stability is to help the Sudanese people to return home to take part in the reconstruction of their country.
The train will print good memories in the minds of the Sudanese riders, Adawi said. "Today, the second train moved under the umbrella of love between the Egyptian and the Sudanese people."
The United Nations on Friday said that over 1.3 million Sudanese people, including one million who were internally displaced and over 300,000 refugees, have returned home.
The International Organization for Migration has reported a rise in voluntary returns of displaced Sudanese from neighboring countries since January 2025, citing an improved security situation in Khartoum.
Due to its geographical proximity to and historical ties with Sudan, Egypt has emerged as the largest host country for Sudanese refugees fleeing the civil conflict. According to data from Egypt's government and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 1.2 million Sudanese have sought refuge in Egypt since the beginning of the ongoing conflict. ■