Overview
- The East Nile monorail began public trial service after opening to riders on May 6, with 16 of 22 stations active and six stations scheduled to come online later in the rollout.
- The system is driverless and all-electric, built by an Alstom-led consortium using the Innovia platform and 272 cars, and the operator has pledged long-term operation and maintenance support.
- Officials say the line can handle up to 600,000 passengers a day at full capacity, but early service has shown low ridership in some stations and unfinished integration with local feeder transport.
- Fares are zonal and range from 20 to 80 Egyptian pounds one-way with a 50 percent subscription discount, a pricing structure that critics say makes daily use costly for many workers.
- The project cost is reported at about $2.8–3 billion, and critics question the timing and fiscal trade-offs given recent heavy infrastructure spending and rising external debt while the West Nile line remains under construction.