Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly accompanied by Minister of Transport Lieutenant General Kamel El Wazir inspected West Nile Monorail project, which is 43.8 km long and includes 13 stations. It is being implemented by the JV (Alstom-Arab Contractors) as part of an extensive inspection tour of a number of green, sustainable, and eco-friendly mass transit projects in the governorates of Giza and Cairo.
Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly affirmed that the state is moving at an accelerated pace in implementing an integrated system for green and sustainable mass transit, as it is one of the main axes for achieving urban and economic development and improving the quality of life for citizens. He pointed out that the monorail, High-Speed Rail, metro, and other modern means of transportation projects not only aim to provide a fast and safe means of transportation, but also work to reshape the map of movement and development and connect new cities, urban and industrial areas with an advanced and integrated mass transit network.
The tour was attended by Dr. Ahmed El Ansari – Giza Governor, Dr. Ibrahim Saber – Cairo Governor, Eng. Wagdy Radwan - Deputy Minister of Transport for Railways and Electric Traction, Major General Eng. Tarek Gweily – the Chairman of the National Authority for Tunnels, Major General Eng. Mohamed Mostafa – the Chairman of the General Authority for Roads and Bridges, and a number of ministry leaders.
The visit was attended on behalf of the Arab Contractors Company by Eng. Sayed Al Wazir - Vice Chairman of the company, Eng. Hassan Ibraheem - Board Member, and AC Executive Board Members: Eng. Hesham Ali, Dr. Eng. Abdel Aziz Ahmed, Eng. Sherif El Dessouky and Eng. Ali Abdel Samad.
The Prime Minister and the Transport Minister also inspected the workshop and control center of the West Nile Monorail project, which covers an area of approximately 88 feddans equivalent to 369.6 thousand m2, and includes 13 buildings: the Administration and Control (OCC) building, the major and intermediate overhaul building, the power station, the train storage yard, the security and guard buildings, the train washing building, the train inspection area, the waste management and hazardous materials storage building, the water management station building, and the fuel station, in addition to a number of other buildings and facilities. During the tour, there was an explanation from Alstom company officials.
The project manager reviewed the implementation rates in the various buildings of the center, where the Prime Minister and the Minister of Transport were briefed on the implementation status of the works and various equipment, ensuring the project’s readiness for operation according to the specified timetable. The West Nile Monorail project includes 30 trains, which were provided to offer the highest levels of service to passengers, in line with the nature of the project and its importance in the modern mass transit system.
Then, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly and Lieutenant General Eng. Kamel El Wazir boarded one of the monorail trains from Ahram Canadian University station to the Engineers Syndicate station, where during the journey they followed up on the implementation status of the final finishing works and mobilization at the stations, and reviewed the programs and dates of the trial operation of the project without passengers, in preparation for starting the operation according to the specified plan.
The West Nile Monorail integrates with the High-Speed Rail network “Al Ain Al Sokhna – Alexandria – Marsa Matrouh”, through Egyptian Engineers Syndicate Club Monorail Station in 6th of October City with the October station for the High-Speed Rail, in addition to integration with the railway network through the Monorail Station with Upper Egypt train network at Upper Egypt train station in Bashteel, Giza, as well as future integration with the third phase of the Cairo Metro Line 4 through 6th of October University station, in addition to linking Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road Monorail Station with Alexandria Desert Transport Station.
It is worth noting that the total length of East and West Nile Monorail projects is about 100 km, with a total of 35 stations. The capacity of each of the two monorail lines is about 500,000 passengers/day. The monorail train currently includes 4 carriages, with plans to increase the number of carriages in the future to 8 carriages, with the increase in population density in the areas served by the project.