Cairo Metro
The Cairo Metro is a 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 Middle East to be constructed. It was opened in 1987 as Line 1 from Helwan 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.
Operations
The middle two cars of each train have been reserved for women since 1989. There are blue signs 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 by men.Cairo Metro operates from 05:00 to 01:00, 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. And now as of 2025 the ticket prices have increased, £E8 for 9 stops,£E10 for 16 stops,£E15 for 23 stops,and £E20 for more than 23 stops
Network
Line 1
Line 1 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, which have a headway 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 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 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 carries Line 2 across the river.
Line 3
Line 3 is the newest line. Its first section opened in 2012. It operates from Rod El-Farag Corridor and Cairo University 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 on 21 February 2012, with five stations and a total length of. Phase 2 to Al Ahram Station was opened on 7 May 2014, with four additional stations and an added length of, for a total length of. Phase 4A from Al Ahram to El Shams Club opened on 15 June 2019. 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 on 15 May 2024.
History
Background
As the biggest and most densely populated megacity in Africa and the Middle East, Greater Cairo 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, 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 and a second line connecting Boulaq 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 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 would be a line connecting Helwan with El-Marg going under Kasr el Eini street and Ramses Street. The second would be from Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque to Shobra going under Downtown Cairo and would be long. The third would be from Giza 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 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 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 and connect them through a metro. It would be in total long. The second line would be and connect Shubra El-Kheima and Bulaq going through Ramses Street and Tahrir Square. The third line would go from El Darasa to Imbaba 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 on 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 Cairo University, with an extension to Giza. The line includes the first tunnel under the Nile. 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 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 of the project will run from El-Malek El-Saleh Station to the October-Oasis Highway Station with a total length of 18 km, passing through Giza Railway Station ; 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 city of 6 October to the Greater Cairo 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 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 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 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 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. 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.