Cairo Monorail

Cairo Monorail
Overview
Native nameمونوريل القاهرة
OwnerNational Authority for Tunnels
Area servedGreater Cairo
LocaleCairo, Egypt
Transit typeMonorail
Number of lines
1 line operational
1 line under construction.
Number of stations
33
Operation
Began operation
6 May 2026 (2026-05-06)
Number of vehicles
70 Alstom Innovia 300 Monorail vehicles
Technical
System length96 km (60 mi) planned
Average speed80 km/h (50 mph)

The Cairo Monorail (Egyptian Arabic: مونوريل القاهرة) is a partly operational two-line monorail rapid transit system in the Greater Cairo metropolitan area and is projected to become the longest driverless monorail system in the world when completed. The two lines will create the first public transport from The New Capital and 6th of October to Cairo when completed. Travel time for the 53km East Nile Line between the New Administrative Capital and eastern Cairo is about 60 minutes, while the 42km West Nile line connecting 6th of October with Giza is expected to be about 42 minutes.

The East Nile Line was inaugurated on March 20, 2026, while passenger service began on May 6, 2026.

Background

Construction in November 2021

The Cairo Monorail was first conceptualized in the late 2010s to combat the rise of traffic in the Greater Cairo area, and to provide a rapid transportation option for suburban residents. The Monorail was also thought of as a rail link between Cairo and Egypt's The New Capital. The Monorail has also been chosen to use renewable resources, to cause less pollution and to be a zero emissions form of transit. The monorail is also automated, meaning it does not require a driver for operations.

Funding

Funding for the project was secured and obtained through a mix of local and international investments. This included a substantial loan facilitation agreement between the National Authority for Tunnels and JPMorgan Chase, as well as contributions from other financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank. The total funding amounted to approximately 4.5 billion euros.

Design and operation

In August 2019, it was announced Alstom, would lead a consortium that included Arab Contractors and Orascom. The consortium signed a 2.7 billion euro contract to design, construct, operate, and maintain the two monorail lines. Upon completion of the construction phase, the consortium will provide 30 years of operation and maintenance services for both lines.

Opening

The East Nile line was expected to first open to the public in 2023, however was delayed to October 2024, before being further delayed to mid-2025. The initial trial operations ran from the control center at the New Administrative Capital to the Moshir Mosque Station.

The East Nile Line was inaugurated on March 20, 2026, while passenger service began on May 6, 2026.

Routes

The two lines connect to Cairo Metro Line 3, but are not directly connected to each other.

Cairo Metro, LRT, and monorail expansion plans (In Arabic)

East Nile line

Construction on this line began in 2019 and was initially scheduled for completion in May 2022. However, the completion date was postponed to October 2023, with operations expected to start in April 2024. By January 2026, trial operation was underway, with passenger operations starting on March 20, 2026. The line was open to the public on May 6, 2026.

The line is 56.5 kilometres (35.1 mi) long, with 22 stations starting with Stadium and terminating at Justice City.

The line provides as a transfer to the Cairo Metro Line 3 at its terminus in Stadium station. It is also connected to the Cairo LRT at the Arts and Culture City station of the LRT.

Stations

Station Number Name Area Connections Landmarks
1 Cairo Stadium (إستاد القاهره) Nasr City Cairo Metro Line 3 Cairo International Stadium
2 Hesham Barakat (هشام بركات) Nasr City
3 Al Azhar University (جامعة الازهر) Nasr City Al Azhar University
4 7th District (الحي السابع) Nasr City
5 Marshal Ahmed Ismail (المشير احمد اسماعيل) Nasr City
6 Jehan Sadat (جيهان السادات) Nasr City
7 Marshal Tantawi (المشير طنطاوي) Nasr City El-Mosheer Tantawy Mosque
8 One Ninety (وان نانتي) New Cairo Ring Road - New Cairo
9 Air Force Hospital (المستشفي الجوي) New Cairo Air Force Specialized Hospital
10 El-Nargus (النرجس) New Cairo El-Nargus area, New Cairo
11 Investors (المستثمرين) New Cairo Investors Area, New Cairo
12 Al-Lotus (اللوتس) New Cairo Al-Lotus Area, New Cairo
13 Golden Square (جولدن سكوير) New Cairo
14 Biet El-Watan (بيت وطن) New Cairo
15 Al-Fattah al-Aleem Mosque (مسجد الفتاح العليم) New Capital Al-Fattah al-Aleem Mosque
16 R1 (حي R1) New Capital Green River
17 R2 (حي R2) New Capital Central Park
18 Central Business District (CBD) منطقة الأعمال) (المركزية New Capital Iconic Tower
19 Arts & Culture City (مدينة الفنون والثقافة) New Capital Cairo LRT Arts & Culture City, New Capital Opera House
20 Government District (الحي الحكومي) New Capital
21 Misr Mosque (مسجد مصر) New Capital Misr Mosque
22 Justice City (مدينة العدالة) New Capital Administrative Control Authority

West Nile line

Work on the October Line started in January 2020, and was projected to begin operating in mid 2023. However work on it has been delayed due to difficulties in expropriating land for the project, pushing the operational date to October 2024. It's currently further delayed, with no estimated operation date.

The line will be 45 kilometres (28 mi) long, with 13 stations starting with New October Station, Industrial Zone Station, Sadat Station, Sixth of October City Authority Station, Engineers Association Station, Nile University Station, Hyper One station, Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, Mansouriya Station, Mariouteya Station, Ring Road Station, Bashteel railway station, and terminating at Nile Valley Station.

The line will provide a transfer to the Cairo Metro Line 3 at Wadi El Nile Station, part of the line's eastern expansion plans.

Rolling stock

Alstom Innovia Monorail 300, as seen in the São Paulo Metro

Cairo Monorail is set to use 70 fully automated Alstom Innovia Monorail 300 vehicles for both lines. The vehicles are four cars long and were manufactured at Alstom's Derby Litchurch Lane Works factory in Derby, England.

The Innovia 300 Monorail system incorporates Alstom's Cityflo 650 CBTC system, which uses radio communication and moving block technology to manage train operations.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "موعد تشغيل مونوريل العاصمة بالركاب.. بشرى سارة لسكان القاهرة". cairo24.com (in Arabic). January 26, 2026. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Cairo Monorail System in Egypt". Railway Technology. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "Monorails of the New Administrative Capital and 6 October City". www.arabcont.com. Arab Contractors. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  4. ↑ "Egypt's Cairo Monorails Project, which will be the longest driverless - Hill International, Inc. on LinkedIn | 69 comments". LinkedIn.
  5. ↑ Stein, Joshua (16 April 2020). "£2bn Egypt monorail project reaches milestone with ground investigation underway". New Civil Engineer. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  6. 1 2 "INNOVIA monorail 300 / CITYFLO 650 - Cairo, Egypt". Bombardier Transportation. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  7. 1 2 "بـ16 محطة.. تشغيل المرحلة الأولى من مونوريل شرق النيل الأربعاء". الوطن. May 4, 2026.
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  9. ↑ Cairo elevated monorail starts passenger service Tramways & Urban Transit issue 1063 July 2026 page 245
  10. ↑ "Everything you need to know about Cairo Monorail". Archived from the original on 2024-09-11. Retrieved 2025-03-20.
  11. ↑ "Cairo Monorail". Railway Technology. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  12. ↑ The Monorail story for greater Cairo Alstom
  13. ↑ "Seven things to know about the New Administrative Capital's monorail project". Egypt Independent. 31 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  14. ↑ "Alstom completes trial run of Cairo monorail system". RailTech.com. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  15. ↑ "موعد تشغيل مونوريل العاصمة الإدارية الجديدة.. اعرف التفاصيل". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 2025-01-18. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  16. ↑ "Egypt's Monorail Project Starts Trial Operations in October | Egyptian Streets". 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  17. ↑ Ekanem, Solomon (2026-03-21). "Africa's longest monorail line begins operations as Egypt opens 56.5km Cairo route". Business Insider Africa. Retrieved 2026-03-23.
  18. ↑ "National Authority for Tunnels". www.nat.gov.eg.
  19. ↑ "Cairo Monorail - The New Administrative Capital and 6th of October Lines - Egypt". Arab Contractors.
  20. ↑ "Cairo Monorail - The New Administrative Capital and 6th of October Lines". Arab Contractors. Archived from the original on 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  21. ↑ "رئيس هيئة الأنفاق لـ"الدستور": 75% نسبة تنفيذ مشروع مونوريل شرق النيل والافتتاح أكتوبر 2024". Dostor. 2024-01-14. Archived from the original on 2024-02-04. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  22. ↑ "Here is where Egypt's monorail stops will be located". Egypt Independent. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  23. ↑ From Derby to the Pyramids The Railway Magazine issue 1457 August 2022 pages 18-20
  24. ↑ Rajab, Said (2021-07-01). "Alstom marks major milestone in Cairo Monorail project". TREM Africa. Archived from the original on 2024-09-11. Retrieved 2024-09-11.