Cairo metro Egypt | Projects

Technical details

Client

NAT (National Authority for Tunnels)

Dates

Line 1: 1970 –1999; 2013
Since 2024 (revamping)

Line 2: 1982 – 2000

Line 3: 2001 – 2024

Missions

Project management

Location

Egypt

Perimeter

Transport planning, Basic Design, Tender Documents, Design Review, Works supervision

Activity

Urban mobility

SYSTRA has been accompanying the Cairo Metro for over fifty years. This makes our Group the only engineering firm to have worked on all three lines of this network, the very first metro system on the African continent and a pioneer in public transport in the Arab world.

SYSTRA, long-standing partner of the Cairo Metro

The first design contract for the Cairo Metro was signed on September 20, 1970. At that time, SYSTRA, then known as SOFRETU, was responsible for designing a transport plan for Greater Cairo, connecting the Egyptian capital to its suburbs.

Our engineering teams developed the traffic plan and the transport master plan and submitted the feasibility study for an integrated metro network in 1973, which was then updated in 1999. The Egyptian authorities place their trust in SYSTRA for every phase and every metro line.

Cairo, the most populous city in Africa and the Arab world, home to one-fifth of the country’s population, needs its metro system to ease traffic congestion and improve the lives of more than 3.5 million daily commuters. Thanks to the metro, residents benefit from a fast, reliable transportation solution that connects the most disadvantaged outlying neighbourhoods.

In total, SYSTRA has carried out more than 20 different contracts for the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT), which oversees the project. After taking part in the design of the first three lines, our teams are now supporting the modernisation of the first line.

Line 1: Helwan – New El Marg

Line 1 of the Cairo Metro, the first metro system on the African continent, was inaugurated on September 27, 1987. SYSTRA provided support from start to finish for the design, then the construction from 1979 onwards, and finally the commissioning of this first line, which marked the beginning of a network that is still being woven beneath the city’s arteries. This north-south line was opened in three phases, first from Helwan to Ramses Square, then from Ramses Square to El Marg in 1989, and finally to New El Marg in 2000.

44.3km, 4.7km in tunnel
35 stations, of which 5 underground
2 million passengers per day
Maximum speed of 100km/h

SYSTRA also took part in supervising the manufacture of rolling stock and assisting with the operation and maintenance of the line. In 2013, 25 years after the line entered service, the government once again called on SYSTRA to identify the upgrades needed to optimise train intervals from 2 minutes 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Since 2016, the Group has been supporting NAT in its modernisation project, which includes the arrival of new rolling stock.

Line 2: Shubra El-Kheima – El Mounib

Initiated shortly after the first line entered service, the design of Line 2 of the Cairo Metro saw SYSTRA mobilise for feasibility studies, basic design and tender documentation from 1989 onwards. Its route connects the Pyramids of Giza in the southwest to the northern suburbs, and for the first time includes a double crossing of the Nile and a service to Zamalek Island.

It was delivered in three phases, first from Shubra El Kheima to Tahrir Square in 1996, then to Cairo University in 1999, before being extended to El Mounib in 2005.

21.6km, of which 13km underground
20 stations, of which 12 underground
1.8 million passengers per day

Line 3: Rod Al-Farag Corridor/Cairo University – Adly Mansour

In 2000, SYSTRA began feasibility studies for Line 3 in Cairo, then continued in 2001 with basic design studies and the preparation of tender documents for phases 1 and 2. Line 3 runs east-west and has a Y-shaped layout in the west to maximise service coverage. It was built in four phases, starting in 2007 under SYSTRA’s supervision, with the first section entering service in 2012. The following phases opened in 2014 (phase 2), 2019 (phase 4), and 2022 (phase 3), with the final extension delivered on May 15, 2024.

For Line 3, SYSTRA is using a technique that is new to the country: prefabricated concrete viaducts on monopiles, which speed up construction, reduce the footprint and infrastructure costs, and minimise disruption to road traffic during the construction phase.

SYSTRA, as overall project manager, coordinated the 4 lots of the project, including the civil engineering, power supply, signalling and control command, track, and rolling stock packages. We also took charge of verifying design documents, testing and operating procedures, and preparing operating manuals, before advising NAT during the warranty period.

41.2km
34 stations, of which
23 underground
2.7 million passengers per day

55 years of partnership

Since its creation, the Cairo Metro has called upon SYSTRA’s expertise in infrastructure and systems, studies and supervision, design, maintenance, and auditing. Throughout this period, our experts have drawn on the know-how acquired on other projects around the world to be as versatile and efficient as possible.