On Sunday 25 August, Alstom and its partners welcomed Garth Bayley, British Ambassador to Egypt, to view the construction of capital city Cairo’s new Monorail system.

The Ambassador took part in a test run inside one of the four-car Alstom Innovia 300 units, that were built in Britain and to operate on the Monorail.

Alstom has a £2.3 billion contract to build and operate the Cairo network.

Also viewing the projects were Egyptian Deputy Minister of Transport Wagdy Radwan, and Chair of the National Authority for Tunnels, Dr. Gen. Tarek H. Gewaily.

They visited East Nile Depot and Operations Control Centre, and Justice City, a terminal station in the New Capital City area and one of the system’s thirty-five stations.

Alstom assembled and tested the Cairo Monorail trains at its historic Derby Litchurch Lane Works. Litchurch Lane is the largest of Alstom’s manufacturing facilities around the world.

The company describes the site as “the UK’s premier, largest and longest established train factory, and the only facility in Britain able to design, engineer, build and test trains for domestic and export markets”.

Midland Railway opened the factory in 1876. The city of Derby has been building trains since 1839, and will be the home of Great British Railways after being selected in 2022.

In January, Alstom’s workforce in Derby completed the final Cairo Monorail car. This is the first export of UK-manufactured rolling stock since trains built in Britain were supplied to the Gautrain rail system in South Africa in 2008.

Alstom built and tested a total of 272 monorail cars for Cairo in Derby, where its Global Centre of Excellence for Monorail is also located.

Alstom boasts that the monorail project has supported hundreds of jobs at Alstom and across the UK, and that it delivered the rolling stock has been delivered from the UK to the Cairo depots on schedule and within budget.

It dispatched the first train from the Litchurch Lane site on 14 June 2021, twenty months after signing the contract. The last train left Litchurch Lane on 16 January 2024. It was carried from Derby to Felixstowe by road, then shipped to Alexandria before being transported to Cairo.

In August 2019, a consortium led by Alstom signed the contract to design, construct, operate and maintain the new Cairo Monorail.

Other members of the consortium were also Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors, the longest driverless train system in the world.

The 99km network will service two lines for east and west of the River Nile, connecting both 6th of October City and Egypt’s New Administrative Capital to central Cairo.

Two years later, Alstom also won the contract to supply new trains for Cairo’s Metro Line 1.

The new Monorail will carry up to forty-five passengers per hour in each direction, with trains running every ninety seconds during peak hours.

It will feature air conditioning and clear customer information screens. It is also hoped that it will provide an affordable mode of public transport to mitigate congestion across the Cairo metropolitan area.

At 99 kilometres (sixty-one miles), the Cairo Monorail is the longest driverless train system in the world.

More information about the Cairo Monorail is available here.

“I was impressed by my visit to Cairo’s brand-new Monorail where I tested the cutting-edge train carriages that the brilliant Alstom team have produced.

“This project is an excellent example of the growing UK-Egypt trade cooperation and highlights the UK’s support for Egypt’s ambitions in providing greener and more sustainable solutions and services to its people.”

Gareth Bayley OBE, His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt

“We were honored to welcome the British Ambassador, along with the Egyptian Deputy Minister of Transport and Chairman of the National Authority for Tunnels, for a site tour of our advanced monorail system. This visit was a testament to the strong partnership between the UK and Egypt, reflecting our shared commitment to innovative infrastructure projects for the country.

“Our discussions underscored the importance of collaborative efforts in driving environmentally friendly mobility forward. By working together, we are developing integrated transport solutions that not only enhance efficiency and connectivity but also promote sustainable practices, contributing to the development of smarter and more resilient cities that meet the growing demands of urban populations.”

Ben Lezala, Cairo Monorail Project Director at Alstom