The Cairo Metro (Arabic: مترو أنفاق القاهرة, romanized: Metro Anfāq Al-Qāhirah, lit. “Cairo Tunnel Metro” or مترو الأنفاق pronounced [ˈmetɾo lʔænˈfæːʔ]) is the rapid transit system in Greater Cairo, Egypt. It was the first of the three full-fledged metro systems in Africa and the first in the Arab world to be constructed. It was opened in 1987 as Line 1 from Helwan to Ramsis Square, with a length of 29 kilometres (18.0 mi). The system consists of three operational lines numbered 1 to 3. As of 2013, the metro carried nearly 4 million passengers per day. As of August 2020, the Cairo Metro has 74 stations (primarily at grade), of which 3 are transfer stations, with a total length of 89.4 kilometres (55.6 mi).
The National Authority runs the Cairo Metro for Tunnels. The lines use standard gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)).
Operations of Cairo Metro
The middle two cars (4th and 5th) of each train have been reserved for women since 1989 (the 5th car becomes mixed-use after 21:00). There are blue signs at every station that signify the position of these cars. These cars are an option for women who do not want to ride with men in the same vehicle; however, women can still freely ride in other cars. This policy was introduced to protect women from sexual harassment by men.
Cairo Metro operates from 05:00 to 01:00 (except during Ramadan, when it operates from 05:00 to 02:00), with the remaining hours reserved for maintenance work.
The ticket price was £E1 for each journey, regardless of distance. The Ministry of Transportation agreed to double the ticket prices, starting from Friday, 24 March 2017, costing £E2 for the regular ticket, £E1.5 for the ticket the minor, £E1 for the unique needs ticket after formerly costing £E1, £E0.75 and £E0.5, respectively. Again, on 10 May 2018, the transportation ministry agreed to raise the ticket prices to £E3 for nine stops, £E5 for 16 stops, and £E7 for more than 16 stops. As of July 2020, 9 stops cost £E5, 16 stops cost £E7, and rides exceeding 16 stops cost £E10.
Network of Cairo Metro
Line 1
Line 1 (blue) is the oldest Cairo Metro, opening its first 29-kilometre (18 mi) segment in 1987. The Line is 44.3 km (27.5 mi) long and serves 35 stations. This Line carries trains with three units (9 train cars), with a 3:30 to 4-minute headway and a maximum speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). The Line can carry 60,000 passengers per hour in each direction.
Line 1 has a train driving simulator supplied by Transurb Technirail that won the international tender issued by Cairo Metro in 2011.
Line 2
The Red Line is the second line of the Cairo Metro. The Line is 21.6-kilometre (13.4 mi) long, 13 kilometres (8 mi) in tunnels. It serves 20 stations, of which 12 are underground. It is mainly in the bored tunnel, with two exceptions: a short section at the northern end approaching Shubra El Kheima, elevated, and an area just south of this by cut-and-cover. The second Line uses the third rail electrification system instead of the overhead Line used in the first Line. Alcatel provided the communication extension for line 2 in 2005.
The minimum headway for the Line is 2 minutes, 40 seconds to 3 minutes.
Line 2 has a simulator installed in Shubra since 2002, delivered by French company CORYS.
The first tunnel under the Nile River carries line 2 across the river.
Line 3
Line 3 (green) presently operates from Attaba to El-Shams Club, with construction underway for the remaining Line to the northwest of Greater Cairo. Eventually, it will link Cairo International Airport to Cairo University and Imbaba. The Line will cross under the two branches of the River Nile, as does Line No. 2. The total length of the Line will be approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi), most of which are in bored tunnels, and will be implemented in four phases.
Phase 1 from Attaba station to Abbassia station opened on 21 February 2012, with five stations and a total length of 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi). Phase 2 to Al Ahram Station was opened on 7 May 2014 by Adly Mansour, with four additional stations and an added length of 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi) for a total distance of 12.0 kilometres (7.5 mi). Also, Phase 4-1 from Al Ahram to El Shams Club opened on 15 June 2019 (except Heliopolis Square station).
History of Cairo Metro
Background
As the biggest and most densely populated city in Africa and the Arab World, the case for a metro in Greater Cairo was strong. In 1987, that population stood at 10 million residents, not counting the two million commuters who came into Cairo daily to work. The capacity of Cairo’s public transport infrastructure was around 20,000 passengers/hour, which increased to 60,000 after the construction of the metro.
Proposed plans
The idea of the metro was first proposed in the 1930s by engineer Saiyed Abdel Wahed of the Egyptian Railway Authority. However, the statement did not progress. Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, there was renewed interest in the concept. In 1954, French experts predicted the future of transportation in Egypt. They proposed a metro encompassing two lines, one 12 km long Line connecting Bab al-Louq and Ismailia and another 5 km line connecting Boulaq and Abou al-Ela Castle. They also proposed that one company should oversee all transportation systems.
Later, multiple experts came to Egypt regarding that project: Soviet experts in 1956, Japanese experts in 1960 and French experts in 1962, which concluded the following: Creating a metro system with multiple lines. The first is a 5 km line connecting Helwan with El-Marg going under Kasr el Eini Street and Ramses Street. The second Line would be from Sayeda Zainab to Shobra, going under Downtown Cairo and 9.5 km long. The third would be from Giza to Abbaseya, which is 11.5 km long. The fourth would be from Al Awqaf to the castle, which is 6.7 km long.
In 1964, British experts advised creating a metro line from Bab El Louk to Shubra. In 1966, Japanese experts recommended the creation of a lane between Helwan and El Marg and another going through Mohandessin, Heliopolis and 26 July Street, for a total of 26 km. Lastly, in 1969, the government approved a study showing the capacity needed for Cairo’s transportation system.
The Egyptian Ministry of Transport issued an international tender to create the survey. Eight companies applied, and the French company SOFRETU won the tender on 20 September 1970. The study was finished in 1973 and included mainly the study of the population development in Cairo and its needs for transportation capacity in 1980, 1985 and 1990. It concluded that three lines in greater Cairo needed to solve the transportation problem. The first Line would connect the already available railways (Helwan-Bab El Louq and Al Laymoun Bridge-El Marg) through a metro. It would be, in total, 43 km long. The second Line would be 13.5 km and connect Shubra El-Kheima and Bulaq through Ramses Street and Tahrir Square. The third Line would go from El Darasa to Imbaba and be 10 km long.
A tender was made for the metro construction, and the Egyptian-French company Entra Nevra Arabco won it and was tasked with constructing the metro system. The priority for the project was the first Line, which would reduce 30% of the daily transport to and from Cairo and incorporate pre-existing rail infrastructure. The detailed construction study took six years, from 1975 to 1981.
Construction works
Helwan University station was built between Wadi Houf and Ain Helwan stations. The construction of Line 1 started in 1982 after the French government agreed to give Egypt the necessary loan. The first section was opened on 27 September 1987. The Line was completed in 1989, connecting Helwan with El Marg and consisting of 33 stations with a total length of 43 km, of which 4.7 km is underground. In 1999, New El Marg station was added to the northern end of the Line, bringing its total length to 44.3 km.
Cairo’s metro network was greatly expanded in the mid-1990s with the building of Line 2, from Shoubra El Kheima to Cairo University, with an extension to Giza. The Line includes the first tunnel under the Nile. The Line’s construction was finished in October 2000 and extended to El Mounib.
Proposed lines
Line 4 (October-Oasis Highway – the Police Academy)
Line 4 is planned to run from Haram District to the New Cairo district, connecting Greater Cairo from West to East. It will cross the two branches of the Nile River and have a total length of 24 kilometres (14.9 mi). As of early 2019, construction was scheduled to begin in Q3 2019, with an estimated completion date of 2024.
Phase 1 (west) of the project will run from El-Malek El-Saleh Station (Interchange with Line 1) to the October-Oasis Highway Station with a total length of 18 km, passing through Giza Railway Station (Interchange with Line No 2); the original plan for phase 1 was for it to start from El-Malek El-Saleh Station and end at the Grand Egyptian Museum Station with a total length of 10 km, but the Ministry of Roads & Transportation decided to extend the Line in their efforts to further connect the Governorate of 6 October to the Greater Cairo Area; Phase 1 also includes the plan to join the end of Line 4 to the suburbs of 6 October mainly through executing The 6 October Tram system (The O6T) which will be by using a tram-train system supplied with the Alstom Regio-Citadis trams.
This phase will have 15 stations to be constructed with a duration of 6.5 years. Phase 1 stations will have an automatic fare collection system and platform screen doors, including elevators for disabled passengers. The Phase bidding was postponed until May 2015 to enable the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to complete the feasibility study and to resolve other problems with the construction starting by 2015 or 2016, according to Ismail El-Nagdy, Chairman of the National Authority for Tunnels with Japan International Cooperation Agency financing $1.2 billion loan while Egyptian government covering the rest of $2.4 billion.
Phase 2 will begin from El-Malek El-Saleh Station, passing east through Magra El-Oyoun Street and Salah El-Din Citadel in Salah Salem Street and ending at the 6th District Station (beginning of Nasr City district) with a completion date set at October 2018.
Phase 3 will begin from 6th District Station and end at Makram Ebeid Station, following Mustafa El-Nahas Street in bored tunnels under the existing old tram system, and ultimately deconstructing the old railway and paving its right-of-way (increasing the road by two lanes in each direction, which is critically needed to lighten the traffic congestion in the area). This phase has a completion date set for October 2019. Mitsubishi was the only company to submit an offer on a tender for 64 trains in the third and fourth phases of the project. The proposal was accepted in October 2018.
Phase 4, the final phase, will begin from Makram Ebeid Station with boring tunnels following Doctor Hassan El-Sherif Street and Ahmed El-Zomor Street, ending at Police Academy Station near the Ring Road.
The New Cairo Monorail
Private investors first proposed this project as a plan to connect Line 3 with Line 4 through a route which is mainly parallel to the Ring Road’s eastern arc, therefore covering New Cairo from north to south, starting at the Cairo International Airport and ending at the beginning of the Cairo-Ain Sokhna Highway.
In August 2016, a different monorail project was under discussion, connecting 6 October city with other western parts of Greater Cairo. The Line was expected to be 35 km long, cost $1.5 billion, and be completed by 2018.
A contract was signed in August 2019 with Bombardier Transportation, Orascom Construction, and Arab Contractors for $4.5 billion to build and operate the two monorail lines. The first will run 54 km from eastern Cairo to the new administrative capital. The second will run 42 km from 6 October City to Giza.
Qalyub Line 2 extension
As of December 2017, the Spokesperson for the Egyptian National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) said that there are plans to extend Line 2 7 kilometres to the north from Shubra Al-Kheima station to end at Qalyub station due to the increasing traffic in north Cairo entrances, He also said that bidding would be held in February 2018. The winner will be revealed in mid-2018. The station will be an at-grade station built parallel to the train railway, and bridges will be constructed to divert traffic from the Metro route.
Long-term plans
A transportation study of the Greater Cairo region was completed in 1999. It recommended implementing a six-line system consisting of lines 1, 2 and 3 (existing) and 4, 5 and 6. The plans include interchange stations between the six metro lines and provide interchange facilities with existing main railway stations, airports, and bus stations. The completed Metro Network would be capable of serving most of the densely populated areas in the Greater Cairo region, which needed a comprehensive mass transit system.
The six planned metro lines aim to meet the transportation demands of the Greater Cairo area up to the year 2032. However, the actual construction and implementation schedule will be restricted by available funding, and the timetable will likely slip.
Line 5 would be a half-circular line connecting lines 1-4 in northern Cairo, running from Nasr City in the east to Port Said Street and Shubra El Kheima in the west. It would have a length of 20 kilometres (12 mi), entirely within bored tunnels. It would intersect Line 1 at Helmiet el-Zaitoun station, Line 2 at El-Khalafawy station, Line 3 at Haroun station, and Line 4 at Al-Wafaa we al-Amal station.
Line 6 would be a north-south line from Shubra north to the Maadi and Helwan districts in the south. It would intersect Line 1 at Ghamra station, Line 3 at Bab al-Sharia station, Line 4 at Amr Ibn al-Ase station, and Line 5 at Sawah station. It would run from Ataba Station through El Kalaa Street in bored tunnels to Salah Eldin Citadel Station (Interchange with Line 4) and move on from there to both districts via bored tunnels using the existing route El-Mahager Railway as a guide through both Maadi and Helwan. This Line has a length of 19 kilometres (12 mi).
