Cairo invests $1 billion USD to upgrade its trains

Cairo Metro Line 1
Cairo Metro Line 1, via European Investment Bank

The Egyptian National Authority for Tunnels has contracted a consortium to renovate its Cairo Metro Line 1. The group includes France-based Colas Rail, Egypt‘s Orascom Construction and Japan’s Hitachi Rail in an 800 million EUR) ($1.1 B USD) contract, split between the three companies.

The Line 1 in Cairo metro is the oldest underground train line in Egypt and is the heart of the city’s urban transport system, carrying 1.5 million people daily. The new investment will increase capacity on the line.

cairo commuter train
Cairo commuter train

“We are proud to have supported the National Authority for Tunnels over more than 40 years in the construction of reliable, low-carbon urban mobility infrastructure in Cairo and Alexandria,” said Hervé Le Joliff, Chairman of Colas Rail. “The modernisation of line 1, which Colas Rail helped to build in the 1980s, represents a new challenge. Over the next few years, many of the world’s major cities will have to modernise their underground railway lines to keep pace with the growing demand for mobility among the population.”

Trains in Cairo, look at the trash
The trains of Cairo. Look at the trash everywhere.

Under the contract, Colas Rail will work with Orascom to modernize the electric power supply and electromechanical systems in stations, tunnels and on the rail track.

Related: Ecological news from Egypt

Hitachi Rail will upgrade the signaling, control and telecommunications infrastructure.

This work will be completed during the day while maintaining commercial operations on the line. The project is expected to start in October 2024 and will run for 64 months.

Alessio Bencivenni, Head of Ground Transportation Systems for Egypt, Hitachi Rail said: “Our solution will enable greater safety, reliability and capacity on the line and deliver more seamless and sustainable journeys for passengers in Cairo.”

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