Subway Surfing

After a little soul searching, I have to admit there's more to my excitement. I grew up near Boston, Massachusetts, home of America's oldest subway system. The "T," as locals call it, might just be the only subway in the world with a folk song written about it. The T is more than a mode of transportation, it's a sense of identity. Put two strangers from Boston together at a party, and they'll use the T to pinpoint where they're from.

Since then, I've navigated more than a dozen major subway systems in the US and Europe. Mastering the subway system is the first step to feeling at home in a new city.  When I first heard the disembodied voice on the London Underground intone "mind the gap," I got goosebumps; even moreso when I recognized station names from my favorite novels and musicals.

But it's more than just figuring out which line goes to which stop. Every system has its own quirks. How and where do I validate the tickets? Do the train doors open manually or automatically?

With at least 27 lines, the New York City subway is comprehensive but too complicated for this casual visitor. You can be at the right platform and still take the wrong train: Get on an express  when you want the local, you could end up many stations past your stop.

I'm a huge fan of the Paris Metro: It has more than 14 lines yet is  simple to figure out, even if you don't know French. Except for Châtelet-Les Halles, one of the the largest underground metro stations in the world; take a wrong turn here and you could end up in another world, like perhaps Narnia or Hogwarts.

So with that wide experience in undergrounds, I am in a position to judge our local system; and I have to say that Cairo has a good metro. Setting aside its very limited coverage, the trains run on time and rarely break down. The fare system is simple: one pound for one ride. That's a big improvement from 10 years ago when tickets were 40, 50 or 60 pt, depending how many stations you were going, and no one ever had exact change.

The Marg-Helwan line opened 25 years ago in 1987, touted as the first full metro line in Africa and the Middle East. And there have been visible efforts to upgrade the system in the past decade. The Marg-Helwan stations are now being renovated, which at my stop means they tore everything but the platforms down and are building a new station from scratch.

The Metro authority is even trying to improve passenger behavior with handrails to keep people in line at the ticket window. I'm less hopeful, however, about the campaign to teach us to enter the cars through the center doors and exit at the end doors. Is it really so hard to convince people to let passengers get off before you try to get on?

I know a lot of people in Cairo look down on the Metro, especially if they can afford a car. Well nowadays, I can spend up to two hours in Thursday night traffic to get from Maadi to Zamalek. The metro from Maadi to Tahrir Square takes only 25 minutes, and from there I could walk to Zamalek in an hour — I'd still get there faster.

And now, finally, the metro is extending its coverage, if only just by five stations. And I was there on the very first day to check it out. How often do you get to ride a metro that still has that ‘new car’ smell? And working air conditioning, no less.

From Maadi to Abbaseya, you now change lines twice. Fortunately, Cairo's metro hubs have always had great signage in both English and Arabic: Nothing says "Go this way" like a bright orange sign.

There are, in fact, only four truly new stations in operation, since Attaba on the Shubra-Giza line just got promoted to a hub. From Attaba, the line stops at Bab Al Shaariya, El Geish and Abdou Pasha before ending in Abbaseya. Most of the passenger conversation on day one seemed to be about what landmarks were near which station.

Fear not: The metro authority actually has a functional website complete with trip planner. Click your location and destination on the Google map, and it tells you which are the closest stations. Of course, the new stations weren't on the map yet.

The new line takes a novel approach to solving the rugby scrum between passengers leaving and entering the train. In Attaba and Abbaseya, the doors on one side of the car open to let passengers off, then the doors on the other side of the car open to let passengers on. These stations also have electronic signs announcing how long before the next train arrives.

The Abbaseya station emerges near the city bus terminal, a short walk from the Nour Mosque. After a short walk through the area, I confirmed that I still have no reason to go to Abbaseya.

Someday — hopefully not after another 10 years — I will be able to take the Metro to Cairo International Airport, which in my book would bring Cairo in line with other major cities. I'll be able to get directly to Zamalek without a taxi. I'll even be able to go all the way out to Imbaba, though I have even less reason to go there than Abbaseya. But I'll know I can.

In my dream world, there will one day be a light rail system to satellite cities such as 6 of October City or Fifth Settlement. That's probably light years away, given how long it took to open five stations of the third line. But that's okay. I'll probably still be stuck in traffic when it does happen.