The Greater Cairo Metro is the first underground in Africa and the Arab World and is considered among the most technologically advanced mass transit systems in the world. One of the main advantages of this giant project is that it facilitates traffic and reduces road accidents.
The project was executed by a joint venture of 7 French companies and the Arab Contractors, headed by Interinfera.
Line 1
It forms the backbone of the metronetwork in Greater Cairo as it passes through the most densely populated districts. The line was established by linking the Helwan railway line at thesouth with El Marg railway line at the north-east of Cairo through a tunnel crossing under the Downtown. The total length of the line is 44 km, which includes 34 stations. The length of the underground section is 4.5 km,including 5 underground stations.
The project started in 1982 and was completed in 1989.
Line 1 was designed to transport 60,000 passengers per hour with a frequency of 150 seconds and a maximum speed of 80 km/h.
The first line of Halwan station runs to El Marg El Gedida in the 44-km range, with 4.7 km of tunnel tracks and a total of 35 stations, of which 5 are underground stations. The line has been implemented and opened in three phases.
First phase (Halwan-Ramses): 28 km long, 22 stations opened in 1987.
Second Phase (Ramses-El Marg El Gadeda): 14.5 km long, 12 stations opened in 1989.
Third Phase (El Marg - El Marg El Gadeda): 1.36 km long, 1 station to connect the first line of the Metro to the Ring Road and opened in 1999.
The underground station and the tunnel were constructed using the open-cut method through the use of diaphragm walls for excavation sides, which were shoring to be part of the structure with the raft and foundation. A grouted plug was used between the diaphragm walls toreduce the permeability of the soil without affecting the level of the groundwater outside the walls and to ensure the stability of the adjacent buildings.
Below is a list of works executed by the Arab Contractors Company:
- The civil work for a main tunnel with a total length of 681m in the part between El Sayeda Zeinab and Saad Zaghloul stations is 295 m long. It is a U-shaped open cut with a width ranging from 12, 15, and 21 m, and the walls are either cast-in sites or diaphragms.
- The remaining part of the tunnel is of a box shape with a width ranging from 8.86 meters to 12 meters, its walls are precast.
- Utility diversion for water and sewerage networks, electricity cables, telephone lines, and gas pipes that encountered the Metro path.
- Removing all structures and buildings that obstructed the tunnel path from Ramses station to El Sayeda Zeinab station.
-Construction of a high-voltage station and testing transformer building in Torra.
- Construction of a washing station equipped with the necessary sets to wash the mobile units in Helwan.
- Construction of 4 electric power stations distributed equally along the tunnel to provide the electrical power required for operation.
- Construction of 3 cooling stations to adapt the temperature inside the tunnel.