Cairo’s first metro line operational after 45 minute delay – official

Cairo’s first metro line, which was disrupted for 45 minutes on Sunday following an emergency technical error, is now fully operational, the Egyptian Company for Metro Management and Operation Spokesperson Ahmed Abdel-Hadi said in a statement.

Traffic at Cairo’s oldest subway line, serving from Helwan to El-Marg districts has been restored in both directions at normal speed after an emergency error at one of the traffic indicators between Ghamra and El-Shohada stations in Cairo, the spokesperson added.

Abdel-Hadi confirmed that the three metro lines are currently operating normally at all directions.

Cairo’s metro currently carries about 4 million passengers daily on its three lines.

On 16 June, the Cairo Metro Authority inaugurated the three new stops of the East Cairo segment of line 3 of the metro: Haroun, Alf Maskan and Nadi Al-Shams in the neighbourhoods of Heliopolis and Ain Shams.

Egypt has set a plan to renovate the first and oldest line of Cairo’s metro system with a fund of 205 million euros in May 2018 after a deal was signed between the government and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The transportation minister revealed that around 900,000 passengers use the first metro line in the Summer, and 1,200,000 use it in the Winter.

Egypt has repeatedly hiked metro ticket prices after the partial lifting of fuel subsidies. The ticket price hike is to keep the service operating and finance extensions for the metro.

Source: Ahram Online