Alexandria Raml Tramway - Egypt

Technical details

Client

National Authority for Tunnels (NAT)

Dates

Since October 2019

Missions

Design, Construction supervision

Location

Alexandria, Egypt

Partners

Egis Rail, ACE Consulting Engineers – Moharra/Bakhoum, Projacs

Created in 1860, Alexandria’s famous ‘blue tram’ is currently undergoing refurbishment, with SYSTRA Egypt contributing to the project as part of a wide-ranging project management, consulting and engineering assignment.

THe challenge : transform ALEXAndria’s raml tramway

The transformation of Alexandria’s ‘Raml’ or ‘Blue Tram’ has been underway since 2020. The National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) has awarded a consortium led by SYSTRA, comprising international partners, the contract to support the design, preparation and evaluation of tender documents and to supervise the network refurbishment works.

The two existing lines are to be merged into one, providing an improved route and better organised service, while the arrival of new rolling stock will increase capacity.

The construction of viaducts and underpasses will reduce as much as possible the points of contact between the tramway and the ringroad. To ensure safety, footbridges will be built to avoid crossing the tracks, and electronic traffic lights will be installed. The authorities’ main objective is to create a modern, reliable and efficient system.

The Alexandria tramway: a historic network

This line belongs to the Alexandria tramway network, which dates back to 1860, making it the oldest tramway in Africa and the Middle East, and one of the oldest networks in the world. It is one of only three non-heritage tramways in the world to operate double-decker cars, the others being Blackpool in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

Thus, journey times between the two termini, Raml and Victoria will be halved, while offering greater comfort to passengers and tripling tram capacity, thereby reducing car traffic and benefiting the environment.