Alstom bags €876m contract from Egypt’s NAT for Cairo Line 1 upgrades

French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom has bagged a contract worth €876 million for the upgrade of Cairo Metro Line 1 from Egypt‘s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT), which involves delivering 55 Metropolis trains and providing maintenance for eight years.

Each of the 55 Metropolis trains will have nine cars.

Opened in 1987, Cairo Metro line 1 transports nearly 2.5 million passengers per day between El Marg and Helwan.

According to Alstom, the upgrades are part of the plans of Egypt to increase and enhance public transportation capacity as well as passenger experience for citizens.

Henri Poupart-Lafarge — CEO of Alstom said: “We are honoured to play a role in the development and modernisation of Egypt’s urban network and are grateful for the National Authority for 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 H.E. Kamel El-Wazir, Egyptian Minister for Transport, the National Tunnel Authority, the French authorities, and all those who have made this project possible for the benefit of the Egyptian people.”

Andrew deLeone, Alstom President for Africa, Middle East and Central Asia Region and National Authority for Tunnels chairman M. Essam Wally. Photo courtesy of Alstom.

Alstom said that the interior layout of the Metropolis trains is customized to the specific needs of the line and designed to maximize the capacity of the train while improving comfort, accessibility, and passenger flow.

The Metropolis trains from Alstom will incorporate digital solutions that enable real-time passenger information, video displays, dynamic route maps, and video surveillance.

As part of the contract, Alstom will deploy its condition-based and predictive maintenance solution called HealthHub. With the help of improved data collection, the HealthHub system is said to streamline the lifecycle costs, while saving up to 20% in preventive maintenance labor and cutting down materials consumption by 15%.

Alstom plans to design the Metropolis metro in France at its Valenciennes Petite-Forêt facility. Its Le Creusot site will be used for the bogies and motor integration, while the Villeurbanne facility will be engaged for manufacturing passenger information systems, and Toulouse, for electrical engineering.