The Light Rail Transit System: An Upgrade to Egypt’s Transportation Infrastructure

Photo via Egypt Independent

As part of developing Egypt’s infrastructure and transportation sectors, the Egyptian Ministry of Transport is preparing to inaugurate one of the country’s mega transportation projects, the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system. According to Ahram Online, the inauguration is set to take place in July.

The project offers speedy transportation between Greater Cairo and newer cities — Al-Obour, Al-Mostakbal, Al-Shorouk, New Heliopolis, Badr, Industrial Zone, 10th of Ramadan, and the New Administrative Capital.

As the first of its kind in Egypt, the LRT is a modern form of the tram, but faster, lighter, and more eco-friendly in its use of electricity instead of fuel. Despite both being above the ground, the monorail travels in a different route, providing a mass-transit link between Greater Cairo, the New Administrative Capital, and 6th of October City.

Implemented in three phases, the USD 35 billion (EGP 656 billion) worth LRT consists of 16 currently-established? stations extending over 90 kilometers. With a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour, the LRT can accommodate up to 500,000 passengers per day, with 30,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

The trip duration from Adly Mansour, the starting point of the LRT, to the New Administrative Capital station, the final point, will not exceed 45 minutes.

The Adly Mansour station, which spreads over an area of 1.1 million square meters, is an interchange station on the Cairo-Ismailia desert road, and the largest station in the Middle East and Africa. The station consists of an LRT system, a railway station on the Cairo-Suez route, a shuttle bus station, and a SuperJet bus station.

The LRT will also intersect with the monorail at the Arts and Culture Centre station, one of three stations located at the New Administrative Capital.

The Egyptian Ministry of Transport and a consortium of Egyptian companies — Bombardier Transportation, The Arab Contractors Company, and Orascom — were responsible for the project’s construction, while the Chinese International CREC-AVIC INTL manufactured the trains, and the French RATP Dev is set to manage operation.

In January 2022, pilot operations were launched in preparation for the inauguration, scheduled to take place later this year.

Upon completion, the trains are expected to arrive every three to five minutes, transporting millions of passengers daily.

A few weeks ago, the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) announced the LRT’s ticket prices, noting that they will depend on the number of stops, as is the current system for the Cairo underground metro system. The ticket for three stops on the LRT will cost EGP 15 (USD 0.8), while rides of six stops are priced at EGP 20 (USD 1), rides of nine stops for EGP 25 (USD 1.3), and 12 stops for EGP 35 (USD 1.9).

Customers can buy tickets via the Egyptian National Railway mobile application available on Apple Store and Play Store.