The Cairo Light Rail Transit (Arabic: القطار الكهربائي الخفيف), or Cairo LRT, is an electrified light rail system linking the city of Cairo to Egypt’s New Administrative Capital and the 10th of Ramadan City. An initial 70 km route consisting of 12 stations was inaugurated on 3 July 2022.
Further phases of the project are currently being built by a partnership between Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels and a consortium of Chinese construction companies. The entire system is projected to extend over 100 km with 19 stations.
History of Cairo Light Rail Transit
The Egyptian government devised the Light Rail Transit project to link the New Administrative Capital to the current capital of Cairo. Additionally, the system would provide transportation to other New Urban Communities east of Cairo, such as 10th of Ramadan City, Badr City, Obour or El Shorouk. In August 2017, a $1.24-billion contract was signed between Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels and a consortium of China Railway Engineering Corporation and AVIC International to start project construction.
On 3 July 2022, an inauguration ceremony took place with the attendance of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Chinese Ambassador Liao Liqiang.
Route
The system links Cairo with the 10th of Ramadan City and the New Administrative Capital. The system’s main branch serves the city of Cairo in Adly Mansour station, providing an interchange with Line 3 of the Cairo Metro. The line extends east, serving the New Urban Communities of El Obour, Future City, El Shorouk, New Heliopolis and Badr City. At Badr Station, the tracks separate, with one branch turning north towards the 10th of Ramadan City and another turning south towards the New Administrative Capital. The northern branch currently terminates in the Knowledge City Station, on the outskirts of the 10th of Ramadan. The line will eventually reach the centre of the city.
The New Administrative Capital branch turns south, serving the Capital International Airport before terminating Arts and Culture City. The unit will eventually do the Octagon military complex and the Nativity Cathedral before ending at the future New Administrative Capital high-speed rail station. This station will provide an interchange with the Cairo-New Administrative Capital Monorail line.
