President El-Sisi Follows-up on New Mass Transportation Projects Nationwide

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Transport Lieutenant-General Kamel El-Wazir and Head of the Armed Forces Financial Affairs Authority Major General Ahmed El-Shazly.

The Spokesman for the Presidency stated that the meeting followed up on new mass transportation projects nationwide that run on clean energy.
The President was briefed on the work progress of the new transportation projects being added to the components of the mass transit system in Egypt, for the first time. The projects are to be powered by clean green energy to preserve the environment and maintain sustainability. This aims to help reduce pollution, rationalize energy consumption, reduce accidents, and improve public health. Furthermore, the new systems will connect urban communities and residential neighborhoods in Greater Cairo as well as at the governorate level, acting as the modern means of transportation as represented in the High-Speed Electric Train, monorail, Light Rail Transit (LRT), and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), which will operate on the Ring Road, in addition to the expansion and addition of new metro lines. 

The President directed the swift completion of the components of the new mass transportation system nationwide, as it significantly contributes to facilitating the rapid and safe commute of citizens and improving living, economic and environmental conditions, as well as copes with the huge development process that Egypt is currently witnessing. The President also directed paying attention to the operation systems and technical cadres that will run this system. They will be scientifically qualified to keep up with the new technologies employed.

The Spokesman for the Presidency stated that the minister of transport presented the current status of the modern components, particularly the High-Speed Electric Train with its three main lines; Ain Sukhna - New Alamein - Marsa Matrouh line passing through Greater Cairo, with a length of 660 km; October Gardens – Luxor – Aswan line with a length of 925 km; and Qena - Hurghada – Safaga line, with a length of 240 km. This is while explaining the progress of civil and industrial work and stations that are being implemented in all these lines, in addition to the surface and overhead tracks and the intersecting bridges.

The minister of transport also presented updates pertinent to the establishment Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)on the Ring Road, which complements the Ministry of Transport’s plan to develop the Ring Road. The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is considered an alternative to random transport and will reduce citizens’ use of private cars. The BRT network on the Ring Road will be considered the longest in the world with a length of 106 km. In this context, the President directed examining the proposed solutions to deal with some intersections and axes on the Ring Road, especially the intersection of Al-Marg with the first line of the metro.

President El-Sisi was also briefed on work progress of the LRT, which has recently begun its trial operations in stations, bridges, tunnels and railway lines connected to the train with a track length spanning 103 km and 19 stations. The track starts from the Adly Mansour station and then extends parallel to the Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road to Badr City, then branches north to the heart of the 10th of Ramadan City and south to the New Administrative Capital to reach the Egypt International Olympic Games City. The train’s track also exchanges services with the third metro line at Adly Mansour station, as well as with the High-Speed Electric Train at the central station and with the Administrative Capital Monorail at the City of Arts and Culture station. This ushers in an unprecedented qualitative leap in the mass transit system in Greater Cairo.