Thales wins two new fare collection contracts for Cairo metro
Key points
- Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) has renewed its confidence in Thales with the award of two new fare collection contracts.
- The contracts involve deploying new-generation equipment on the Line 3 extensions of the Cairo metro (Phase 3 to the west and Phase 4B to the east).
- Phase 3 will last more than 5 years and involves equipping 15 stations. Phase 4B includes 4 stations and will last for 2 years.
At a ceremony held on 10th June in the presence of Egypt’s transportation minister His Excellency Hesham Arafat, Thales signed two new fare collection contracts covering 19 new stations on the Cairo metro. Both contracts are part of the Line 3 extension project: Phase 3 is the western branch of the line and includes 15 new stations, and Phase 4B is the eastern side of the line, with four stations. The two new contracts follow earlier awards in December 2015 to upgrade the fare collection systems on Lines 1 and 2 of the Cairo metro.
Thales will build on this experience to deploy its latest TransCity TM systems into the existing infrastructure: 70 automatic vending machines, 177 ticket office machines, 50 portable ticket control terminals as well as 460 new-generation automated access gates, which will speed throughput and provide smoother passenger flows.
Thales has been contributing to the development of the Cairo metro for more than 30 years. These two new contracts, lasting more than 5 years (Phase 3) and more than 2 years (Phase 4B) respectively, underscore the continuing confidence of Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) in the Thales Group.
The Cairo metro is an efficient mass transit solution designed to significantly improve urban mobility in the Egyptian capital, contributing to sustainable development and helping to improve the quality of life. More than 4 million people will benefit from the Line 3 extension project.
Thales has been present in Egypt for more than 40 years and employs approximately 500 people (including joint ventures) in the country, 30 of whom are working exclusively on fare collection projects for the Cairo metro.
Cairo Metro: Thales is a long-standing partner of the Cairo metro, having delivered and then upgraded the entire revenue collection system for Lines 1 and 2. The Group has also provided integrated communication and supervision solutions for Line 2, the first phases of Line 3 (2007 and 2009) and its subsequent extension (Phase 3). These solutions have made a huge contribution to the overall efficiency of Cairo’s rapid transit network, one of the densest in the world.
Mainline rail: Thales upgraded the signalling system for the Cairo-Alexandria rail link, the busiest in the country, with over 25 million passengers every year. As a result, capacity and safety have been improved, with train speeds increased from 140 to 160 km/h and headways between trains reduced from 10 to 5 minutes.