Alstom and National Authority of Tunnels (NAT) announced an agreement for 55 Metropolis trains (9 cars per train) and an 8-year maintenance contract valued at €876 million for the upgrade Cairo Metro Line 1 at TransMEA
, financed by the French government.
Launched in 1987, Cairo Metro line 1 is the oldest metro line in Egypt, moving approximately 2.5 million passengers per day between El-marg and Helwan. These upgrades are part of Egypt’s plans to increase and improve public transportation capacity and passenger experience for citizens.
“We are honored to play a part in the development and modernization of Egypt’s urban network and are grateful for the National Authority of Tunnels confidence in Alstom’s Metropolis solution. It is a proven and technologically advanced platform. With a fleet of about 495 Metropolis cars, more residents will be able to commute safely and comfortably every day. We thank the Minister of Transport, National Authority of Tunnels, the French Authorities and everyone that made this possible for the benefit of the Egyptian people.” said Henri Poupart-Lafarge, CEO of Alstom.
A state-of-the-art metro, the Metropolis brings an unprecedent level of comfort to Cairo residents and tourists. Its interior layout is tailored to the specific requirements of the customer and designed to maximize train capacity while enhancing comfort, accessibility, and passenger flow. It features wide corridors, and a dedicated women’s area. At peak times, each train will be able to carry 2,580 passengers and its eco-design brings increased energy-efficiency and is up to 98% recyclable. In addition, Alstom’s proposal includes a unique design to reflect the history and culture of Cairo.
Incorporated digital solutions allow for real-time passenger information, dynamic route maps, video displays and video surveillance. Also included is Alstom’s cutting-edge condition-based and predictive maintenance program known as HealthHub. Through enhanced data collection, the system optimises the lifecycle costs and saves up to 20% in preventive maintenance labour and 15% in materials consumption. Maintenance work will be carried out at the depot in Cairo and managed locally, creating long term job opportunities for local talent. A training and development plan will be rolled out in partnership with the Egyptian Company for Metros (ECM) – the operator and maintainer of Line 1.
The Metropolis metro will be manufactured in Alstom’s plant in Valenciennes, France. More than 6,000 Metropolis cars have been sold around the world, including to cities such as Barcelona, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Chennai, Montreal, Singapore, Buenos Aires, Lima and Santiago de Chile.
Alstom has been a partner to Egypt’s railways since 1971, supporting the railway infrastructure development in the country. Alstom Egypt has established a strong local team and a Center of Excellence (COE) for signalling systems, power supply and maintenance workshops to support projects across its Africa-Middle East-Central Asia (AMECA) region. Egypt’s vision and strong talent pool has enabled Alstom to make significant contributions to Egypt’s rail industry development. Today, Alstom employs approximately 500 people in Egypt with several ongoing projects including a consortium to design, implement, operate, and maintain two new Monorail lines connecting the New Capital City and 6th October City to Greater Cairo.