The Cairo Metro (, lit. "Cairo Tunnel Metro" or ) is a

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

system in

Greater Cairo The Greater Cairo () is a metropolitan area centered around Cairo, Egypt. It comprises the entirety of the Cairo Governorate, the cities of Imbaba and Giza in the Giza Governorate, and the city Shubra El Kheima in Qalyubia Governorate. Its def ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. It was the first of the three full-fledged metro systems in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and the first in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

to be constructed. It was opened in 1987 as Line 1 from

Helwan Helwan ( ', , ) is a suburban district in the Southern Area of Cairo, Egypt. The area of Helwan witnessed prehistoric, ancient Egyptian, Roman and Muslim era activity. More recently it was designated as a city until as late as the 1960s, befor ...

to Ramses Square with a length of . As of 2013, the metro carried nearly 4 million passengers per day. As of 15 May 2024, the Cairo Metro has 84 stations of which 5 are transfer stations, with a total length of . The system consists of three operational lines numbered 1 to 3. The Cairo Metro is owned by the National Authority for Tunnels. The lines use

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

().

Operations

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 (pink on the first and second lines) at every station that signify the position of these cars. These cars are used as an option for women who do not wish to ride with men in the same car; however, women can still ride other cars freely. This policy was introduced to the protection of women from

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

by men. Cairo Metro operates from 05:00 to 01:00 (except during

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

, 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 normal ticket, £E1.5 for the ticket of the minor, £E1 for the special needs ticket after formerly costing £E1, £E0.75 and £E0.5, respectively. Again on 10 May 2018, the ministry of transportation agreed to raise the ticket prices to be £E3 for 9 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

Line 1

Line 1 (blue) is the oldest line of the Cairo Metro and the first metro to open in Africa and the Middle East, with its first segment having opened in 1987. The line is long and serves 35 stations. This line carries trains with 3 units (9 train cars), which have a

headway Headway is the distance or duration between vehicles in a transit system. The ''minimum headway'' is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles. The precise definition varies depending on ...

of 3.5 to 4 minutes, and a maximum speed of . 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

Line 2 (red) is the second line of the Cairo Metro, first opening in 1996. The line is long, of which are in tunnels. It serves 20 stations, of which 12 are underground. It is mostly in the bored tunnel, with two exceptions: a short section at the northern end approaching Shubra El Kheima which is elevated, and a section just south of this by cut-and-cover. Line 2 uses the

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...

electrification system instead of the overhead line used in the first line. The communication extension for line 2 was provided by Alcatel in 2005. The minimum headway for the line is 2.7 to 3 minutes. Line 2 has a simulator installed in Shubra since 2002 which was delivered by French company CORYS. The first tunnel to be built under the

Nile River The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

carries Line 2 across the river.

Line 3

Line 3 (green) is the newest line. Its first section opened in 2012. It operates from Rod El-Farag Corridor and

Cairo University Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...

to Adly Mansour, where it connects to the Cairo Light Rail Transit. Eventually, it will be extended to Cairo International Airport. The line crosses under the two branches of the River Nile, as does Line 2. The total length of the line will be approximately , most of which are in the bored tunnel, and will be implemented in four phases. Phase 1 from Attaba station to Abbassia station opened in 21 February 2012, with five stations and a total length of . Phase 2 to Al Ahram Station was opened in 7 May 2014, by Adly Mansour, with four additional stations and an added length of , for a total length of . Phase 4A from Al Ahram to El Shams Club opened in 15 June 2019 (except for Heliopolis Square station which opened later that year). Phase 3A from Attaba station to Kit Kat station opened in October 2022. Phase 3B from Kit Kat station to Rod El-Farag Corridor station opened in January 2024, adding six more stations and . and began revenue service on 1 January 2024. Phase 3C from Kit Kat to Cairo University was opened in 15 May 2024.

History

Background

As the biggest and most densely populated

megacity A megacity is a very large city, typically with a population of more than 10 million people. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in its 2018 "World Urbanization Prospects" report defines megacities as urban a ...

and the

had a strong case for a metro. In 1987 that population stood at 10 million residents, not counting the two million or so commuters who came into Cairo every day 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 a metro was first proposed in the 1930s by engineer Saiyed Abdel Wahed of the Egyptian Railway Authority, however, the idea did not progress. Following the

Egyptian Revolution of 1952 The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...

, there was renewed interest in the idea. In 1954 French experts made a report about the future of the transportation in Egypt. They proposed a metro encompassing two lines, one long line connecting Bab al-Louq and

Ismailia Ismailia ( ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city had an estimated population of about 1,434,741 according to the statistics issued by the Cen ...

and a second line connecting

Boulaq Boulaq ( from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile. History The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land available on its eastern ...

and Abou al-Ela Castle. They also proposed that there should be one company in charge of all transportation systems. Later on, multiple experts came to Egypt regarding that project:

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

experts in 1956, Japanese experts in 1960 and French experts in 1962, which concluded the following: The creation of a metro system with multiple lines. The first is a line connecting

with El-Marg going under Kasr el Eini street and Ramses Street. The second line would be from Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque to Shobra going under Downtown Cairo and would be long. The third would be from

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah, Gizeh, Geeza, Jiza''; , , ' ) is the third-largest city in Egypt by area after Cairo and Alexandria; and fourth-largest city in Africa by population after Kinshasa, Lagos, and Cairo. It is the capital of ...

to Abbaseya and would be long. The fourth would be from Al Awqaf to the Castle and would be long. In 1964, British experts advised the creation of a metro line from Bab El Louk to Shubra. In 1966 Japanese experts advised the creation of a lane between Helwan and El Marg and another one going through Mohandiseen, Heliopolis and 26 of July Street, for a total of . Lastly, in 1969, the government approved the need for a study showing the needed capacity for Cairo's transportation system. The Egyptian

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

issued an international tender for the creation of the study. 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 Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and its needs for transportation capacity in 1980, 1985 and 1990. It concluded the necessity for three lines in greater Cairo to solve the transportation problem. The first line would use the already available railways (Helwan-Bab El luk and Al Laymoun Bridge-El Marg) and connect them through a metro. It would be in total long. The second line would be and connect

Shubra El-Kheima Shubra El Kheima, (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt, fourth-largest city in Egypt after Cairo, Giza and Alexandria. It is located in the Qalyubia Governorate along the northern edge of the Cairo Governorate. It forms part of the Great ...

and

Bulaq Boulaq ( from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile. History The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land available on its eastern si ...

going through Ramses Street and Tahrir Square. The third line would go from El Darasa to

Imbaba Imbaba ( ', ) is a working-class neighbourhood in northern Giza, Egypt, located west of the Nile and northwest of and near Gezira Island and downtown Cairo, within the Giza Governorate. The district is located in the historic upper Nile Delta, and ...

and would be in total long. The priority for the project was the first line which would reduce 30% of the daily transport to and from Cairo and would incorporate pre-existing rail infrastructure. The detailed study of the construction took 6 years from 1975 to 1981. A tender was made for the construction of the metro and the Egyptian-French company Entra Nevra Arabco won it and had the task of constructing the metro system.

Construction works

The construction of Line 1 started in 1982 after the French government agreed on giving Egypt the necessary loan. The first section was opened in 27 September 1987 and the line was completed in 1989 connecting Helwan with El Marg and consisting of 34 stations with a total length of 42.5 km of which 4.7 km underground. In 1999, New El Marg station was added to the northern end of the line, bringing its total length to 44 km. Helwan University station was built between Wadi Houf and Ain Helwan stations. Cairo's metro network was greatly expanded in the mid-1990s with the building of Line 2, from Shoubra El Kheima to

, with an extension to

. The line includes the first tunnel under the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

. The construction of the line was finished in October 2000, and it was later extended to El Mounib.

Proposed lines

Line 4 (Hadayek El Ashgar - El Rehab)

Line 4 is planned to run from Haram District to the

New Cairo New Cairo ( ') is a satellite city within the Cairo governorate of Egypt, and the metropolitan area of Greater Cairo. Administratively, it is officially part of the Eastern Area of Cairo city, but like all new settlements in Egypt, it is di ...

district, connecting Greater Cairo from West to East. It will cross the two branches of the Nile river and have a total length of . Construction began in 2024 for completion in 2028. 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 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 The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM; ''al-Matḥaf al-Maṣriyy al-Kabīr''), also known as the Giza Museum, is an archaeological museum in Giza, Egypt, about from the Giza pyramid complex. The Museum hosts over 100,000 artifacts from ancient E ...

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

Area; Phase 1 also includes the plan to connect the end of Line 4 to the suburbs of 6 October mainly through executing ''The October 6th Tram system'' (The ''O6T'') which will be by using a

tram-train A tram-train or dual-system tram is a type of light rail vehicle that both meets the standards of a light rail system, and also national mainline standards. Tramcars are adapted to be capable of running on streets like an urban tramway but a ...

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 be equipped with an automatic fare collection system and platform screen doors, and will include elevators for the use of disabled passengers. Phase 1 bidding was postponed until May 2015 to enable

Japan International Cooperation Agency The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...

(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 a $1.2 billion loan, while Egyptian government would cover the remainder, $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 street 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 offer was accepted in October 2018. Phase 4, the final phase, will begin from ''Makram Ebeid Station'' with bored 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

This project was first proposed by private investors as a plan to connect ''Line 3'' with ''Line 4'', through a route that is mostly parallel to the Ring Road's eastern arc, therefore covering

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 long, cost $1.5 billion, and be completed by 2018. A contract was signed in August 2019 with

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...

, 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 New Administrative Capital (NAC) () is a New Urban Communities Authority, new urban community east of New Cairo in Cairo Governorate, Egypt and a satellite city of Cairo. As of May 2023, 14 ministries and government entities have been relocated ...

. The second will run 42 km from 6 October City to Giza.

Qalyub Line 2 extension

As of December 2017, Spokesperson for the Egyptian National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) said that there are plans to extend Line 2 7 kilometers 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 will be held in February 2018 and the winner will be revealed mid-2018. The station will be an at-grade station built parallel to the train railway, bridges will be built to divert traffic from the Metro route.

Cairo International Airport Line 3 extension

Line 3 Phase 4C is proposed to start from Heliopolis station passing through Al-Hegaz Square and Military Academy area to Sheraton District and after ending at Cairo International Airport. If built, it would have five tunnel stations. There is no proposed completion date for this phase.

Long-term plans

A transportation study of the Greater Cairo region was completed in 1999. It recommended the implementation of a six-line system consisting of lines 1, 2 and 3 (existing); and lines 4, 5 and 6. The completed Metro Network would be capable of serving most of the densely populated areas in the Greater Cairo region, which was much in need of a comprehensive mass transit system. The plans include interchange stations between the six metro lines and would also provides interchange facilities with existing main railway stations, the airport, and bus stations. 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 , 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 in the north to the Maadi and

districts in the south. 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 . 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''.

Network map

Notes

References

;Other references: *

External links

Cairo Metro – official website
{{coord missing, Egypt + Giza Rapid transit in Egypt Underground rapid transit in Egypt Electric railways in Egypt Rail transport in Egypt Railway lines opened in 1987 Downtown Cairo 750 V DC railway electrification Standard-gauge railways in Egypt