Stamp issued 30 January 1957 - Egyptian Railways Centenary.
Photogravure by the Survey Department, Cairo.

Egypt’s railways are considered to be the first-established railways in Africa and the Middle East, and the second in the world after the United Kingdom. Construction began in 1834, using extended rod rails to connect Suez with Alexandria, but this was soon intercepted by France for political reasons. The idea was then revived after 17 years, in 1851, to connect cities throughout Egypt from north to south.

The construction of the first railway began in Egypt on 12 July 1851 and its operation started in 1854. It is noteworthy that the supervisor of the Egyptian Railways project was the English architect Robert Stevenson, son of the tractor's inventor, George Stevenson.