Thales has been selected by Egypt National Railways (ENR) to modernise the 48km-long Cairo-Benha section as a part of the railway modernisation contract for the Cairo-Alexandria line.
The modernisation programme will improve the capacity of trains, as well as enhancing traffic safety and the security of the line.
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The Cairo-Benha section comprises nine stations and sees one of the busiest traffic movements in the country.
Under this contract, Thales will provide its signalling technologies, which are currently being deployed on the Benha-Alexandria section of the line.
As a result, the entire Cairo-Alexandria corridor will use the same signalling technology, and give ENR complete control over operations across the line.
Thales will supply nine electronic interlocking devices, 11 level crossings and field elements, as well as the interface to existing assets.
The scope of the contract also includes refurbishing associated energy systems and existing technical buildings, and constructing new buildings at different locations.
Following the works, a traffic control centre will be able to manage the whole line from Cairo to Alexandria.
Furthermore, traffic volumes on the line are also expected to reach double those of current levels, while the trains will also be able to operate at higher speeds of up to 160km/h from their current speeds of 120km/h.
Besides being associated with the Cairo-Alexandria project, Thales has also been contracted to modernise the signalling and telecom systems of an 180km section between Asyut and Nagh Hammadi of the main Alexandria–Cairo–Aswan corridor.
All these upgrade works are part of the Egyptian railways’ railway modernisation programme.
