first line of Metro is the backbone of the greater Cairo underground network. It is the first underground line in Africa, Middle East and Arab region, and Cairo has thus taken the lead in using this sophisticated means of mass transportation, which provides safety, comfort, and convenience, as well as being environmentally friendly, in addition to its ability to carry high energy intensities The design of the line is 2 million passengers a day.
With the launch of the line, Egypt becomes the 16th country in the world to operate a metro to transport passengers.
The first line extends from Helwan station to New Marj, with a length of 44 km, of which 4.7 km is a tunnel track, and a total of 35 stations, including 5 tunnel stations. The line was implemented and opened in three stages.
The first phase (Helwan - Ramses): 28 km long, 22 stations, and was opened in 1987.
The second phase (Ramses - Al-Marj): 14.5 km long, 12 stations, and was opened in 1989.
The third phase (Al-Marg - Al-Marj Al-Jadidah): 1.36 km long, with 1 station, and was implemented to connect the first line of the metro to the ring road at Al-Marg Al-Jadidah and was opened in 1999.
The National Tunnels Authority succeeded in implementing and developing the first line from Helwan to Al-Marj, controlling and controlling the operation of the line from the control center in the Ramses Complex, and coordinating this between more than seventeen contractors who were working simultaneously to achieve the goal.
The first line entered passenger transport service in April 1989, as it proved to be the best means of rapid mass passenger transport, and the increasing demand for this service for the Egyptian citizen was the incentive to begin implementing the second line project for the Greater Cairo Metro.
Facilities transfers
The Authority overcame many of the problems and difficulties it faced during implementation, the most important of which was the expropriation of many privately owned and government-owned properties, where citizens were compensated and moved to housing designated for them.
The method of excavation and covering was one of the best methods for carrying out these works, especially since the Sayyida Zeinab-Ramses tunnel is not considered one of the deep tunnels because it is connected to the level of the railway line (Helwan - Sayyida Zeinab and Al-Marj - Mubarak Station). Therefore, it was necessary to clear the route of the line and the stations from the facilities and Utilities: There was a very large scale expropriation of water, sewage, electricity, telephone, and natural gas networks - and the recording of utility networks was not accurate enough and available these days. Identifying the underground facilities was one of the most severe difficulties faced by the National Tunnels Authority. Due to the lack of accurate drawings or maps that indicate and enable identification of these facilities.
Therefore, utility accidents increased at the beginning of the project’s implementation, as the main water pipes in Tahrir Square, Ramses Square, and Ramses Street were repeatedly broken, important telephone cables were cut, service was disrupted in downtown areas, and sewerage network pipes were broken. This led to opposition from the Egyptian citizen residing in those areas, out of suspicion. From him that the implementation of the metro project will stop life in Greater Cairo.
A higher coordination committee was formed to issue work permits, and the Authority used the latest devices for detecting underground facilities and companies specialized in that, and intensified the effort. Work teams were formed, which at one stage reached more than 35 work teams working in more than 35 utility conversions in At one time, the year 1983 was the beginning of the real launch of the implementation of the work of the first phase of the first line of the Greater Cairo Metro.