Cairo’s New Monorails: Revolutionizing Urban Mobility

The Cairo Monorails Project is a transformative infrastructure initiative designed to seamlessly integrate modern transit into a bustling urban environment. Utilizing over 3300 precast concrete spans, 900 structures, 16 switches, and 35 stations, this ambitious project connects key areas of the city while minimizing disruptions to existing roadways.

By strategically aligning the guideway along medians and shoulders, the monorail avoids major highway crossings and facilitates easy access to stations. Additionally, a continuous emergency route, featuring walkways, cross-over bridges, and stairways, ensures passenger safety across the entire system.

Cairo, Egypt's capital, has over 20 million residents and is the largest city in Africa, the Arab world, and the Middle East. Egypt's rapidly growing population, projected to reach 150 million by the end of the century, prompted the development of new population centers outside Cairo. The monorail lines extend from the city center:

• The East Nile (EON) Line is a 54 km long monorail serving New Capital City. The alignment extends from Cairo Stadium to the east through new developments until it reaches a new governmental capital. The New Capital City is expected to house 6.5 million people when finished.


• The West of Nile (WON) Line is a 43 km long monorail serving 6th of October City. The alignment extends in a southwestern direction, providing a connection from the commercial Zamalek district, west of the Nile, to the new commercial, industrial, and residential City of the 6th of October.


• An Operations Maintenance and Storage Facility (OMSF) is located at the end of each alignment with train storage and maintenance facilities. 

Innova Transportation is working directly for a civil joint venture (Civil Works Joint Venture, or CWJV) of the two largest construction companies in Egypt, Orascom Construction Inc, The Arab Contractors, and the vehicle supplier, Alstom (Former Bombardier Transportation Systems).  The two alignments were awarded by the National Authority of Tunnels (NAT) to CWJV in 2019 after a competitive tender process. 

The Innova team provides alignment design, comprehensive logistic beam fabrication and transportation support, construction engineering, structural calculations and drawings for the mainline structures, and shop drawings for guideway beams. Additional design provided for emergency walkways, track switches, station guideway beams, and depot guideway beams and foundations. Coordination with Alstom requires a high level of attention to detail and close coordination for system requirements. Stations and depot buildings were designed by Sener and Shaker.  The long-span and non-conventional structures were designed by Innova and Sener.