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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 April 1999 Issue No. 426 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 April 1999 Issue No. 426
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Special Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Subway to the city
By Rehab Saad
President Hosni Mubarak, escorted by top government officials, this week opened the first subway line to run under the Nile. The five-kilometre tunnel, which cost LE1.75 billion, will provide the first underground metro link between the densely populated governorates of Cairo, Giza and Qalyubiya, where traffic is a constant problem.
(photo: Khaled El-Fiqi)
Describing the achievement as a "gigantic national project incomparable to any other in the region," President Mubarak told those attending Sunday's inaugural ceremony that the new line would be used by two million passengers a day.
The new line, including the 380-metre-long section that runs under the Nile, is the third phase of the second Greater Cairo underground. It connects Sadat station, below Tahrir Square in the heart of the capital, with Cairo University in Giza. Moqbel El-Shafe'i, head of the National Tunnel Authority, noted that "the third phase is served by three underground stations at Gezira, Dokki and the Research Institute as well as a surface station at Cairo University."
The second line, which cost a total of LE11 billion, connects Shubra Al-Kheima in Qalyubiya Governorate with Ramses, Ataba and Tahrir squares in Cairo before running under the Nile to Giza. While commuters are mainly relieved that it will do much to alleviate traffic, officials also view it as a source of national pride. "With the completion of the third phase, the underground network is 59km long, proof of Egyptian labour's efficiency and success, and the strength of the economy," Minister of Transport Soliman Metwalli said. He pointed out that the second line was fully funded by the government, and that 85 per cent of the workers were Egyptian.
The giant digging machine dubbed Nefertiti began work at a point 70m below the Nile bed near Al-Galaa Bridge, then passed under the Opera House and the Mukhtar Museum before reaching Gezira station. Nefertiti continued digging below the main branch of the Nile to the right of Qasr Al-Nil bridge.
"For the first time, the trains running on that section of the line are supplied with power through a third rail on the ground, instead of an overhead electric network," El-Shafe'i said. "This is one of the main features of the second line, guaranteeing that the power supply will never be cut off while the subway is running."
The six-carriage trains, running at speeds of up to 80km per hour, can be operated manually by a driver, semi-automatically or fully automatically. "There is a control room at Mubarak station below Ramses Square, where technicians can stop the train if a danger signal appears on a computer screen," El-Shafe'i explained.
Passengers can change over from the first line, running from Helwan in the south to Al-Marg in the north, at Mubarak or Sadat stations and can use one ticket for both lines.
According to Tunnel Authority officials, the trip from Tahrir Square to Cairo University will take between 10 and 12 minutes and from Shubra Al-Kheima to Cairo University around 25 minutes. Commuters are eager to put these predictions to the test -- every day. Mahmoud El-Husseini, a Cairo University student who lives in Old Cairo, used to take a bus to Giza, but is now using the new line, which saves a lot of time and effort. "The bus is always crowded and because of traffic jams it takes an hour to get to university," he says. "Now, I can make the trip in just 20 minutes, even if it costs more." El-Husseini takes the first line to Tahrir Square, where he switches to the second line. To make it even easier for students, there is a metro entrance inside the university and a ticket office is to be opened there soon.
Students, however, are not the only ones who stand to gain: one of the entrances of the Opera station lies inside the Opera House grounds, for the convenience of opera goers and employees.
The fourth phase of the second line, which will connect Cairo University with the Giza railway station, is under construction at an estimated cost of LE448 million. "The completion of the fourth phase will make the main railway station at Ramses Square partly redundant, because passengers coming from Upper Egypt will be able to get off at Giza and then use the underground. Those coming from northern Egypt will be able to get off at Shubra El-Kheima and take the underground as well," said Abdel-Latif Sherif, chief construction engineer. The three-kilometre-long stretch is planned for completion by 2001.
Transport Minister Metwalli announced that plans for a third 29km line, connecting Imbaba in Giza with Cairo International Airport, are under study. Construction of this line will be divided into three phases: the first from Ataba Station to the Cairo Stadium in Nasr City, the second from Imbaba to Ataba and the third from the stadium to the airport. Also under study are proposals for a subway line in Alexandria, running from the Abu Qir railway station to the centre of the city, a distance of 21km.
