An agreement has been signed between Egypt and the French Development Agency (AFD), according to which the AFD would partially finance a European project to upgrade Alexandria’s tram network, to the tune of 100 million Euros. The project in its entirety would cost 360 million Euros. Alexandria’s tramway network is the oldest tram system in Africa and one of the oldest in the world.
Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr, signed the agreement with AFD to upgrade the 150-year-old Raml tramline, known as the Blue Tram, which connects the Alexandria from west to east.
The upgrade, which should eventually more than double capacity from 100,000 daily passengers to 230,000, will extend the tramway route, optimise the alignment and construction of the tramway, provide faster service by minimising the intersection of the tramway with roads through the construction of viaducts and underpasses and the prioritisation of the tramway at traffic lights, AFD declared to the press. Stations will be upgraded by installing shelters, seating, ticket dispensers and signposts. The project, according to AFD, would halve the current travel time across 27 stations, covering 11km, to 30 minutes.
The 360 million Euro budget for the project which will be carried out over three years, will be provided through the 100 million from AFD, as well as 180 million from the European Investment Bank, and the equivalent of 80 million Euros in the local currency from Egypt’s Transport Ministry. Transport Minister Hisham Arafat said that further would later include the city’s other extensive tram network that connects the city centre with the western section.
Alexandria is Egypt’s second largest city and accommodates a population of 4.5 million. Its has no underground, yet its tram system is used by only 12 per cent of the city’s daily commuters, according to AFD. The upgrade project will “considerably improve comfort for tramway users… and encourage Alexandrians to switch from car and taxi use to public transport,” the agency said.
In October 2016, the AFD held a photogragh exhibition on the history of the Alexandria tramway at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The exhibition was such a huge success that it was moved to the Egyptian French Institute in Alexandria in November 2016, then to Cairo’s Railway Station at Ramses Square in March 2017. It is now at Raml tramway station in Alexandria.