My paper “From Privilege to Welfare” explores government policies and estimates their social effects in the transition of the Egyptian railway from an entertainment for the notables to a means of transportation affordable to the mass. I argue that the process of technology diffusion was not a given, but was managed through careful calculations of the railway economy, as well as a series of social control measures. By the railway economy, I mean that the Egyptian Railway Administration (ERA) had to take in to account the feasibility of a low and subsidized ticket price with its meager revenue, especially after 1876 when the Caisse de la Dette Publique placed strict requirements for the ERA’s profitability. The cost of the railway welfare constantly hovered around the minds of both British and Egyptian politicians and technocrats. Using both government and non-government sources, this paper examines various way of relieving the welfare’s costs on state budget by Khedival, British colonial, and nationalist officials, and assesses their advantages and disadvantages. I continue to argue that the railway welfare encompassed much more than the management of economy, but also entailed more sophisticated social measures that marked out beneficiaries from those who were not qualified. Accordingly, the police enforced stricter regulations on fare evasion and train surfing, which caused the once-rampant phenomena to reduce in frequency. It also required clearer differentiation on carriage classes, services, and fares. I contend that although these social measures guaranteed the promotion of the railway welfare to a wider population, they also created new distinctions and privileges that had long-term effects on Egypt’s social stratification. Overall, the popularization of the Egyptian railway strengthened the state’s capacity of economic management and social control.