Skip to main content

Thales to upgrade Greater Cairo Metro

More than 30 years after winning its first contract for the Greater Cairo Metro, Thales has signed two contracts with the metro operator; the first is for an upgrade of the fare collection system for Lines 1 and 2 of the Egyptian capital’s rapid transit network and the second for a full integrated communications and supervision system for the Al Thawra extension on the line 3 (Phase 3). Thales will deploy its TransCity fare collection solution on Lines 1 and 2 of the Cairo Metro, replacing the equipment
December 18, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

More than 30 years after winning its first contract for the Greater Cairo Metro, 596 Thales has signed two contracts with the metro operator; the first is for an upgrade of the fare collection system for Lines 1 and 2 of the Egyptian capital’s rapid transit network and the second for a full integrated communications and supervision system for the Al Thawra extension on the line 3 (Phase 3).

Thales will deploy its TransCity fare collection solution on Lines 1 and 2 of the Cairo Metro, replacing the equipment installed in the 1980s, when these first two lines were built. Under the contract, Thales will supply 850 access gates, 100 vending terminals for ticket outlets and 75 portable ticket control terminals, as well as implementing new system architecture. In addition, the TransCity central system will supervise all data generated across the existing network and accommodate future network evolutions and extensions. 

The 18-month project will be conducted on one of the densest public transport networks in the world with no disruption to passenger flows. Once completed, a combination of magnetic stripe and contactless fare media technology will make it easier for passengers to access the metro system. The new fare collection equipment installed at stations on Lines 1 and 2 will improve reliability while reducing maintenance costs.

Under the second contract, in a consortium with Alstom, Thales has signed a contract to implement an integrated communications and supervision system for 15 new stations and an additional depot on more than 17km Attaba to Rod El Farag and Cairo University. This extension is one of the Egyptian authorities’ strategic investments in Cairo to increase the level of public transport services and will result in 76 months of activity.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Cloud-based app paves way for near field ticketing
    December 17, 2013
    Cubic latest introduction provides a short cut for transit authorities looking to offer travellers mobile, smart phone payment options. Transit operators wanting to provide travellers with a mobile fare payment option now have an ‘off-the-shelf’ solution in Cubic’s NextWave. Through the use of near field communications (NFC) technology, NextWave turns travellers’ mobile phones and tablets into the equivalent of a ticket vending machine able to instantly re-load contactless transit cards. It also enables the
  • Thales Siemens JV wins Spanish high speed rail contract
    August 17, 2015
    Spanish rail administrator Adif has awarded the Thales and Siemens joint venture a US$38.6 million contract to carry out works for the signalling facilities, train protection systems, fixed telecommunications and centralised traffic control for the Chamartín-Torrejón de Velasco section of Spain’s high speed rail network. The project also includes work on the 7.3 km long Atocha-Chamartín tunnel and a maintenance period of 36 months. Siemens Rail Automation will be responsible for modernising the Trackguar
  • Less travel aggravation to blunt Aggieland fans’ motivation
    June 17, 2016
    Returning travel times to normal within two hours of the end of a major football game was the challenge facing College Station, Adam Lyons explains how this was achieved. College Station, TX, also known as ‘Aggieland’, is located right in the middle of the Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston triangle making the city accessible to over 14 million Texans within less than a four-hour drive. One of the biggest draws to this area is Texas A&M University (TAMU) and the Aggie football games in the fall, mea
  • "They're not Democrat bridges and Republican roads - they're all bipartisan"
    April 17, 2025
    Concerns over the potential vulnerability of GPS could have significant implications for the tolling industry. IBTTA’s Kathryn Clay explains it all to Adam Hill, and looks to the future…