Sener designs the Cairo monorail network, the longest driverless one in the world

The construction joint venture formed by Orascom and Arab Contractors has trusted the engineering and technology group Sener to design the upcoming Cairo monorail network. With 96 kilometers of elevated track, 35 stations and 2 depots, it will be the longest driverless monorail network in the world, and the second longest overall. Sener, in association with Shaker Consultancy Group, has been designated as the designer of the project being responsible for the special bridges, the architecture and electromechanical systems for the stations and depots, as well as the securing of the systems. INNOVA has taken part in the project developing the alignment and the guideway beam.

The project comprises two lines, “New Capital” connecting with the new urban areas in the east, such as New Cairo and the Administrative Capital, with 54 kilometers and 22 stations, and “6^th of October”, with 42 kilometers in length and 13 stations serving the west bank of the Nile up to Giza. The monorail is planned to run on 70 4-car driverless trains manufactured by Alstom, providing a capacity of 45,000 passengers per hour per direction, with a maximum speed of 90 kilometers per hour. The construction works are being carried out by Orascom, Arab Contractors and Alstom as main contractors for Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT).

The initiative means a technological leap in electric traction rail transport and will offer a safe, fast, and non-polluting alternative to connect the metropolitan area of Cairo transversally in the East-West axis. It will improve the mobility of the city’s inhabitants and visitors, decongesting traffic by offering an efficient and sustainable mass public transportation alternative. The “New Capital” line is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, while the “6^th of October” line will be completed in 2025.

Medhat Elguindy, director of Sener in Egypt, highlights: “we are glad to combine our global trajectory in mobility and the experience in other notable projects in Egypt to provide Cairo with a mass transportation system aligned with the Egypt Vision 2030 strategy, contributing to foster the urban and economic development of the capital. At Sener, we are contributing to the development of emblematic transportation systems in the country, such as the tunnels under the Suez Canal recently inaugurated in Port Said. Likewise, our extensive experience in monorail system projects in different parts of the world, from the USA to Brazil, Panama, or Mexico, will allow us to help Orascom, Arab Contractors and NAT to make a project as ambitious as this one real, and to encourage the use of an efficient, safe and environmentally friendly transportation mode.”