The new station is expected to relieve pressure from Cairo’s Misr Railway Station (Ramses Station) and ease traffic congestion at Ramses Square.

Ramses Railway Station, which was built in 1854 when Egypt’s population was 4 million, currently serves around 1.1 million passengers daily, according to Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir.

The Bashteel station, which will be three times larger than Ramses station, is being built in a central location between Ramses and Giza railway stations, making it a meeting point of Egypt’s main railway lines.

Here are the major points to know about the Bashteel station:

• The project is being constructed on an area of 240,000 square metres, and the station building is 31,000 square meters large.
• The cost of the project is EGP 350 million, and it is providing around 15,000 jobs.
• The station is being built in the Ancient Egyptian style, with a 40-metre-high glass pyramid and four obelisks to be placed at the station's entrance.
• It will contain 12 railway platforms, tractor and carriage workshops, and a storage area.
• The station will also hold a garage, a commercial mall, a four-star hotel, and 28 towers for commercial, administrative and residential use.
• It will be linked with various modes of transportation, including the Cairo Metro’s third line, the Monorail, and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.
• Hassan Allam Holding is responsible for the station’s design and construction under the supervision of the Ministry of Transportation and the National Railway Authority.
• The project is scheduled to be inaugurated by the end of 2022.