Egypt expanded and modernised its transport network in 2025, including with the launch of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on the Ring Road, continued trial operations on the East Cairo monorail ahead of its expected opening in January 2026, and the start of initial runs of the high-speed electric rail line in November.
Progress also continued on phase one of Cairo Metro Line 4, designed to connect 6 October City with New Cairo through some of Greater Cairo’s highest-density districts.
These new modes of transport, including the BRT, high-speed electric trains, the monorail, and the metro, promote social equality by providing people with diverse mobility options, reducing the reliance on private cars, and helping to ease congestion and pollution, professor of Roads and Transport Engineering at Cairo University Emad Nabil said.
These land transport modes are also important to encourage investment, Nabil added, noting that the government is working to integrate maritime and land transport by developing seaports and dry ports linked to the road network, creating investment opportunities and lowering freight costs.
In media remarks, Nabil noted that the expansion of green electricity-powered transport is putting Egypt on a path towards becoming a more environmentally friendly country.
This diversity of modes of transport is important, according to professor of Roads and Transportation Engineering at Ain Shams University Osama Okeil. He emphasised that effective transport planning is based on variety, stressing the importance of a mix of transport systems and arguing that no single mode can meet every need and that each should be selected according to its purpose.
Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Transport and Industry Kamel Al-Wazir said the World Bank estimates that Egypt’s transition to electric public transport will save the country $8 billion annually in fuel costs. By 2030, he added, Egypt will have inaugurated all the stages of its new clean-transport networks.
The state’s focus on green mass transportation builds on a decade-long emphasis on expanding and upgrading the road network through the National Roads Project. The Ministry of Transport stated that the total cost of the comprehensive plan to develop and modernise Egypt’s transport system from 2014 to 2024 had reached LE2 trillion, of which LE530 billion was for roads and bridges.
The roads projects include 7,000 km of new roads, of which 6,500 km have been completed, with 500 km still under construction. In parallel, 10,000 km of existing roads are being upgraded, with 8,500 km finished so far, ensuring higher efficiency and connectivity across Egypt.
Okeil stated that Egypt’s recent expansion and development of its network of roads was both necessary and forward-looking, addressing a shortfall caused by an average of only 1,000 km of road constructed per year over the past 30 years.
Monorail: Egypt’s two-line monorail system is progressing as one of the country’s most significant urban-mobility projects, designed to connect the new cities with the capital through fast, uninterrupted travel above ground.
Built by a consortium led by Bombardier Transportation (now part of Alstom), Orascom Construction, and Arab Contractors, the system will operate fully automated trains running on dedicated elevated tracks, reducing congestion at the eastern and western entrances of Cairo.
The East Nile (New Capital) monorail runs from Nasr City’s Cairo Stadium to the New Capital, stretching 56.5 km and serving 22 stations. The East Cairo Monorail trains will carry around 560 passengers per train and help reduce congestion and fuel use.
The Ministry of Transport announced that the final stages of trial operations for the East Nile monorail have begun, and the passenger service is scheduled to start in the first week of January 2026.
The line connects with Metro Line 3 at Stadium Station and with the Light Rail Transit (LRT) at the Arts and Culture Station in the New Capital, creating a seamless link between Cairo’s older districts and its expanding eastern suburbs.
When fully completed, the monorail network will span 100 km and 35 stations, including the planned West Nile line. Together, they will form a key component of the capital’s integrated transport system.
The West Nile (6 October) monorail has been moving into trial-operation phases and construction is advanced, running approximately 43 km from 6 October City to Giza with 13 stations, and it will integrate the western suburbs and new developments into Greater Cairo’s transport grid.
The line will pass through vital hubs including the 6 October Industrial Zone, the Media Production City Zone, and major residential districts before connecting with Cairo’s metro network at the Giza interchange. Both monorail lines are designed to operate at speeds of up to 80 km/h with high passenger frequency.
The monorail will bring a transformative leap in transport, linking 6 October City, which until now has had no access to mass transit, with the rest of Greater Cairo. Efforts are also underway to connect 6 October via Metro Line 4, which will link it with Agouza, Mohandessin, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), and the Pyramids area, and then Nasr City, Heliopolis, and New Cairo, Al-Wazir said.
When fully operational, the system is expected to transport hundreds of thousands of commuters daily, easing the pressure on Cairo’s road network while providing reliable east-west and west-centre connections across the metropolitan area.
Okeil said that transport projects such as the monorail require comprehensive and rigorous feasibility studies that cover all elements, including ticket pricing.
He noted that while monorails exist internationally, many countries that tested or assessed them later discontinued their use due to high costs and limited economic returns.
He also stated that the reliance on advanced technologies could expose such systems to rapid technological obsolescence, creating long-term challenges related to maintenance and spare parts.
Okeil noted that implementing a monorail within a city with many stations could lengthen travel times, which is also one of the reasons many countries have abandoned the system.
In contrast, Okeil described the BRT as a viable and positive option, welcoming Egypt’s entry into this system. He stated that while the already operated BRT’s design may have shortcomings, these can be addressed and corrected in similar future projects.
“The [BRT] project is an initial experience in Egypt from which lessons can be learned, allowing improvements to be applied on future routes,” Okeil told Al-Ahram Weekly.
Bus Rapid Transit: The Transport Ministry describes the BRT as a modern, high-capacity system supporting the state’s effort to upgrade public transport and ease congestion.
The Ring Road BRT will be implemented in three phases covering 48 stations over 113 km.
The first phase entered passenger trial operations on 1 June 2025, covering 14 stations from the Alexandria Agricultural Road to the Police Academy. The fare for the full 14-station trip is LE15.
The second phase, 57 km with 21 stations from Field Marshal Tantawi to the Fayoum Road interchange, remains under construction and is planned for trial operation on 31 December 2025.
According to Okeil, when buses run in isolated corridors free from intersections, signals, and congestion, they can carry passenger volumes comparable to metro or rail systems.
At the same time, Okeil indicated that the BRT does not require the complex, highly specialised equipment and technologies associated with metro or rail systems, making its capital and operating costs significantly lower.
Moreover, he noted that most BRT buses today operate on electricity or natural gas, offering environmental advantages.
The Ring Road, historically the most congested artery in Greater Cairo, has undergone LE21.5 billion in upgrades, expanding from four to seven lanes in each direction and providing space for a dedicated BRT lane. The system is planned to replace microbuses, which will eventually be banned on the Ring Road.
Once the first two phases are operational, the fleet will include 100 electric buses, each with a capacity of 66 passengers. The headway is three minutes (20 buses per hour), reduced to 1.5 minutes during peak times.
Al-Wazir said the buses are “100 per cent Egyptian” from materials to manufacturing. He described the BRT as a core east-west transport artery linking central Cairo with the New Capital. The system, he noted, is designed to attract private-car users to public transport by offering higher service quality and reduced emissions.
The ministry expects 300,000 passengers to use the BRT daily, rising to 500,000 by 2030.
The network is designed to integrate with existing rail systems, providing interchanges with Metro Line 1 at Zahraa and Marg, Line 2 at Giza, Line 3 at Adly Mansour and Imbaba, and the LRT at Adli Mansour.
Cairo Metro Line 4: Egypt and Japan signed a financing agreement for the fourth tranche of phase one of Cairo Metro Line 4 project in September, part of a broader Egyptian-Japanese partnership implemented by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Phase one runs for 19 km with 17 stations, 16 underground and one at ground level, from Hadayeq Al-Ashgar in 6 October City to Al-Fustat. It links with Metro Line 2 at Giza and with Line 1 at Al-Malek Al-Saleh, serving densely populated areas including Haram, Faisal, Omraniya, and Giza. It will also directly serve the GEM.
Construction work is under way on all phase one stations. Tunnel excavation is progressing using four tunnel-boring machines, two per direction.
Studies are ongoing for phase two, 26.9 km with 21 stations extending from Al-Fustat to New Cairo, and for phase three (16.3 km from Hadayeq Al-Ashgar to Al-Hosari) and phase four (38.7 km from New Cairo to the Capital Airport), designed to link the line with the LRT and the future Metro Line 6.
Al-Wazir said Line 4 will play a central role in connecting 6 October City and New Cairo, relieving traffic in key corridors and supporting tourism by linking historic Cairo with the Giza Plateau and the GEM. The line is expected to carry 1.5 million passengers daily once completed.
Separately, the metro operating company has rolled out credit card-enabled payment machines at all Line 1 and 2 booths and subscription offices to reduce queues and improve services.
Cairo’s metro currently carries over 4.5 million passengers daily.
The ministry has begun upgrading Line 1 by replacing its ageing fleet of cars. In May, Egypt received the first of 55 air-conditioned trains from France’s Alstom under a 776.9 million euro agreement.
Spain has been commissioned to refurbish 23 existing trains, while new contracts cover signalling, communications, and electromechanical upgrades.
High-speed electric rail: Egypt’s high-speed rail network, implemented by the Transport Ministry in partnership with the German company Siemens Mobility, represents the country’s most ambitious transport programme in decades.
Official statements indicate that the inauguration of the first line is planned for December 2026.
The project aims to create a fully electrified rail grid stretching over 2,000 km across three main lines, linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean and connecting Upper Egypt, the Delta, and strategic new cities.
Egypt’s high-speed electric rail network, consisting of three lines totalling more than 2,000 km, will connect major cities and serve nearly 90 per cent of the population. The first line stretches 660 km from Ain Sokhna to Marsa Matrouh via the New Capital, Alexandria, and Alamein.
The second line (1,100 km) will link Beni Sweif with Abu Simbel, connecting major cities along the River Nile, and the third (225 km) will connect Hurghada and Qena, which is designed to bolster tourism and freight movement between Upper Egypt and the Red Sea coast.
Once complete, it will be the world’s sixth-largest high-speed rail network and significantly reduce travel times, cut emissions, and support economic development.
Siemens Mobility has committed to 15 years of maintenance for the entire system, which includes 41 Velaro high-speed trains, 94 Desiro regional units, and 41 Vectron locomotives.
At the TransMEA 2025 exhibition in November, Siemens unveiled the Velaro high-speed train to the public for the first time. Built for Egypt’s desert climate, it reaches 250 km/h and accommodates 489 passengers. The expo saw the start of the trial operation of the Desiro regional train.
Both Siemens trains are planned to run on the network. The Velaro high-speed train travels at a speed of 250 km/h, the Desiro regional train at 160 km/h, and the Vectron freight train at 120 km/h.
Al-Wazir said the arrival of both models marks “a defining moment” in Egypt’s transport modernisation. He added that the regional network, now largely complete, already allows passengers to travel from 6 October City to Marsa Matrouh in around three hours. With the high-speed line operational, the journey time will also be three hours.
The freight component will move 13 to 15 million tons annually, compared with the current three million on the conventional network, according to Al-Wazir.
The first line includes 21 stations for both high-speed and regional services. Studies are under way to extend the line from Ain Sokhna to Suez over 59 km.
The high-speed network will offer multimodal connectivity with the LRT at the Central Capital Station, the second high-speed line at Hadayek October, the West Nile Monorail at 6 October, the Cairo-Aswan railway at Giza, and the future Metro Line 6 at Ahmed Omar Hashem.
The Transport Ministry describes the network as the beginning of a “new national mobility backbone” offering faster and cleaner alternatives to road travel while providing long-distance reliability that Egypt’s conventional rail network has struggled to deliver.
When completed, the three lines are expected to transform domestic travel times, integrate remote regions into national economic routes, and support population redistribution across new cities.
TUK-TUKS: In mid-November, Giza governorate launched a voluntary initiative to replace tuk-tuks with compact four-wheeled vehicles known as Qute cars.
The programme, now in its initial implementation phase in four areas, Al-Haram, Agouza, 6 October City, and October Gardens, aims to improve safety, regulate operations, and ease traffic flow.
Tuk-tuks, estimated informally at nearly five million units nationwide, are banned from major roads but remain widely used in narrow residential districts. The Qute car offers enhanced safety features, higher stability, and the ability to be licensed as a taxi.
Manufactured by India’s Bajaj and expected to be assembled locally, the vehicle can travel 550 km on a single tank.
The Qute is priced at around LE200,000, compared with up to LE250,000 for a tuk-tuk. Each applicant receives LE11,000 in support, LE10,000 cash back after licensing, and LE1,000 towards fees, with the remaining cost financed through soft loans.
The governorate stressed that the scheme remains fully voluntary, with no obligation for drivers to surrender their vehicles. The current phase serves as a pilot before potential expansion across Giza and other governorates.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 25 December, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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