Cairo Metro Line 1

Cairo Metro Line 1 is the first line of the Cairo Metro in Cairo, Egypt. It is the first metro system in Africa and the Middle East.^[9] It was constructed in 1987 and connects Helwan with El Marg, stopping at 35 stations. Line 1, sometimes called the French-built line or simply the French line has a total length of 44.3 kilometres (27.5 mi) with 4.7 kilometres (2.9 mi) of it being underground^[2] and has trains that run with 3 units (9 cars), which have a frequency of 2.5 minutes and a maximum speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).^[10] The line can carry 60,000 passengers per hour in each direction.^[11]

The Construction of the project started in 1982 after the French government agreed on giving Egypt the necessary loan. The first New Marg - Helwan line costs 1107 million Francs which were converted into Egyptian currency and divided into multiple stages.^[12] The total cost of the first stage from Helwan to Ramsis is E£473.9 million divided into the following:

1. E£397 million for the tunnel between Saiyeda Senab and Ramsis with a length of 4.7 kilometres (2.9 mi) .^[12]
2. E£74.5 million for the movement of 60 km different structures and the improvement of the older railways.^[13]
3. E£2.4 million for the creation of a station in Dar El Salam.^[13]

The second stage coasted in total E£499.6 million and connected the (Laymoun Bridge-Marg) railway with the metro.^[13] Additional costs were made available as requested by the ministry of transportation:

1. E£172.8 million for completing the (Ramsis-Marg) lane.^[13]
2. E£280 million for the third stage of the (Helwan-Marg) lane.^[13]
3. E£400 million for the (Shubra el Kheima-Ramsis-El Tahrir) lane^[13]
4. E£2 million for the preparation study of the second lane Imbaba-El Darasa^[13]

The construction of the Helwan-El Marg line was in two stages. The first stage was from Helwan to Sayeda Zenab and included a tunnel from Helwan to Ramses Square. First the line from Helwan to Sayeda Zenab, which is 24 kilometres (15 mi) long had the following construction works:

1. The isolation of the existing railways and the construction of 9 car bridges and 21 people bridges.^[14]
2. The construction of 17 rail lane switcher.^[14]
3. The renovation of the existing railways.^[14]
4. The production of 882 kilometres (548 mi) of cables which satisfy the needs of the rail way from Helwan to Sayeda Zenab.^[15]

Second the line from Helwan to Ramses Square, which would be a subterranean and is 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) long. It includes five subterranean stations after the Sayeda Zenab station:

• Saad Zaghloul station
• Sadat station
• Gamal Abdel Nasser station
• Ahmed Orabi station
• Mubarak (now: Al-Shohadaa) station under Ramses Square

The Construction of this line consumed the following resources:

1. 117,000 cubic metres (153,000 cu yd) of concrete works.^[15]
2. 334,550 cubic metres (437,570 cu yd) of digging works.^[15]
3. 3900 concrete walls^[15]
4. 3,800 metres (12,500 ft) other digging works.^[15]

In 1987 the line from Helwan to Ramses Square was finished and opened for the public.^[16] It had a total length of 28.5 kilometres (17.7 mi).

The second stage of the Helwan El Marg line included the construction of a line from Ramses Square to El marg, which would be 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) long.^[16] The operation of the line was aimed for 1988,^[16] but due to some difficulties it started operation in 1989.^[10] The second stage included also:

1. The conversion of the Marg line to an electric line.^[16]
2. The acquisition of 48 new units, which would make 100 units available for operation.^[16]
3. The improvement of a workstation to provide maintenance works for 204 Units.^[16]
4. The construction of a 220 kilo-Volt power generator, to provide electricity for the future lines.^[16]

Line 1 connects to Line 2 at Al-Shohadaa and Sadat stations and with Line 3 at Nasser station. It will connect to Line 4 at El Malek El Saleh station.

Shohadaa Station is immediately next to Ramses Station, providing access to Egyptian National Railways long-haul and short-haul domestic passenger service. Cairo Transport Authority buses and private microbus services are also nearby.

Access to Cairo International Airport is expected via transfer to Line 3 upon completion of Phase 4 in early 2020.^[17]

A new train driving simulator integrated in Cairo Metro's training center dedicated for Line 1 drivers, which was provided by Transurb Technirail that won the international tender issued by Cairo Metro in December 2011.^[18]

Transurb Technirail will provide Cairo Metro with a driving simulator and a computer-assisted learning area to train Line 1 drivers, improving their driving skills and to train them on the elementary functions of the rolling stock and on how to handle malfunctions.^[18]

• List of Cairo metro stations

• Salama, Saiyed (1987). Metro Al Anfaq. Dar Al Maaref. ISBN 977-02-2155-4.