Alstom, a global supplier of smart and sustainable mobility solutions – together with its partners, recently welcomed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt, Gareth Bayley OBE, to witness the construction of the new Cairo Monorail system.
As part of the visit, he was able to enjoy a test run inside one of the British-built four-car Alstom Innovia 300 units that will serve passengers along the 61-mile-long network once operational. The British Ambassador was joined by the Egyptian Deputy Minister of Transport, Wagdy Radwan, and Chairman of the National Authority for Tunnels, Dr. Gen. Tarek H. Gewaily, where they also visited Alstom’s main workshop and control centre, as well as one of the system’s 35 stations.
His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt – Gareth Bayley OBE: “I was impressed by my visit to Cairo’s brand-new Monorail where I tested the cutting-edge train carriages that the brilliant Alstom team have produced.”
The Cairo Monorail trains were assembled and tested at Alstom’s historic Derby Litchurch Lane Works as part of a £2.3 billion contract to construct and run the new Egyptian network. This marked the first export of UK-manufactured rolling stock since Derby-built trains were supplied to South Africa for the Gautrain rail system in 2008.
In total, 272 monorail cars for Cairo were assembled and tested in Derby, also home to Alstom’s Global Centre of Excellence for Monorail.
In January this year, the team in Derby celebrated the completion of the final Cairo Monorail car off the production lines. The monorail project has supported hundreds of jobs at Alstom and across the UK, and the rolling stock has been delivered from the UK to the Cairo depots in accordance with scheduling and budgetary requirements.
Cairo Monorail
In August 2019, an Alstom-led consortium—also involving Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors—signed the contract to design, construct, operate, and maintain the new Cairo Monorail, the longest driverless train system in the world. The 99km network will service two lines east and west of the River Nile, connecting both 6th of October City and Egypt’s New Administrative Capital to central Cairo.
The new system will transport up to 45,000 passengers an hour in each direction, with a 90-second headway during peak hours. It will offer air conditioning, clear customer information screens and an affordable mode of public transport to mitigate congestion throughout the Cairo metropolitan area.
Meanwhile, trade between Egypt and the UK continues to develop – with the bilateral trade relationship valued at £4.7 billion annually – and the African country remains one of the fastest-growing trade partners for the UK.
All photographs courtesy Alstom.
