Alexandria tramway network to be electrified in 3 years

CAIRO – 9 September 2017: The National Authority for Tunnels has launched in September the project of renovating Alexandria Tramway network, which was introduced in 1863 consisting of 20 lines operating on 32 kilometers and serving 140 stops.

The project entails switching to electric locomotives, whose vehicles are equipped with air conditioners, operating on 14 kilometers at a speed of maximum 140 km/h and serving 28 stations. The railroads would pass through tunnels or bridges at crossroads.

The Head of the Central Administration for Planning at the authority Tarek Abou el-Wafa told Egypt Today that many consulting companies were contacted to present their proposals on the execution of the project.

Six international coalitions of which were selected to take part in a limited tender for one of them to be chosen within a month.

The selected consulting coalition will cooperate with the authority to conduct studies for the execution phase, and make designs within six to nine months.

The coalition will also work on setting the terms and conditions for the international tender, which will be held to select the company that will execute the project by mid-2018.

The renovation plan also includes installing new railroads, and the electrification of tram signaling at Raml Station located at the centre of the Mediterranean city.

Abou El Wafa stated that the project would be finished in three years maximum at a cost of € 360 million ($433 million). He added that €100 million will be granted as a soft loan by the French Development Agency.

Abou el-Wafa said on Saturday that currently the authority is negotiating with the European Investment Bank (EIB) as it offered financing 50 percent of the project at the value of €180 million in the form of a soft loan as well.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has also offered a soft loan of €80 million, but the authority is still studying whether to accept it or the cover the rest of the project’s cost through the state budget.

Abou el-Wafa declared that the electrification of the Raml Tramway stretching from Victoria Station to Mansheya Station would decrease the traffic jam in Alexandria to a great extent.