On April 25, 2026, the East Nile Monorail opened to the public in Cairo, Egypt. This driverless train system stretches 56.5 kilometres from Cairo Stadium Station to the New Administrative Capital, gliding above the desert and suburbs without touching the ground.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi formally inaugurated the line on March 20, joined by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir. The monorail has 22 stations and runs at speeds up to 80 kilometres per hour. It can move around 45,000 passengers per hour in each direction, with daily ridership expected between 500,000 and 600,000.
What makes this system special is its quiet, automated design. The 40 trains have rubber tyres and run along an elevated guideway controlled by advanced signalling technology. Built by Alstom in Derby, England, the trains use about 30 percent less energy than conventional rail.
The project cost roughly €2.7 billion and took seven years to complete. It created approximately 15,000 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect ones. The monorail connects Cairo's overcrowded city centre to the New Administrative Capital, where the government has been relocating since 2023. Greater Cairo, with over 19 million inhabitants, suffers from severe traffic congestion. A second monorail line is already under construction, and together these will create Africa's largest monorail network.