Is the Cairo underground still a landmark of national pride, wonders Salonaz Sami Upon its opening in the late 1980s, the French- built subway system was regarded as the fastest, cheapest and cleanest form of public transportation for an overpopulated capital. Its two lines -- linking Al-Marg in the north to the industrial area of Helwan, 30km south of Cairo, and the crowded district of Shoubra Al-Kheima, southwest to Sakiat Mekki and Al-Monib -- were considered an advantage for middle- and low-income commuters. But today, it appears that the dream form of transportation has become a nightmare for the estimated 2.5 million daily commuters. Two weeks ago, a water leak in the ceiling at Al-Sadat station (underneath Tahrir Square, Downtown) caused panic among commuters, despite reassurances by officials that the water was not polluted. But these reassurances only prompted more concern. The ceiling was examined by a committee from the National Authority for Tunneling (NAT), the Metro Operation Division and Cairo Governorate, which found that the leak was coming from a pipe that waters the garden above ground. Although the leak did not fall under the jurisdiction of the NAT, and was resolved quickly, the problem brought to the fore many other defects of the capital's subway system. Despite regular police patrols, metro stations have now become a favourite hangout for beggars, vendors, drug addicts and even pickpockets. Not to mention young lovers who escape the congested streets to the quieter platforms under the ground. The network which once prided itself as being one of the safest and cleanest in the world was scene of the arrest of 4,402 street vendors; 12,000 incidents of thefts; and 1,022 cases of drug use in 2003, according to official reports. Furthermore, issues related to maintenance, schedules and cleanliness have marred the reputation of the once efficient form of transportation in Cairo. The radical deterioration of the service is chronicled by Nadia Fahmi, 32, a daily commuter. "It's become like a regular dose of torture," Fahmi told Al-Ahram Weekly, "if it's not the broken fans which make the air in carriages repugnant, it is the growing numbers of beggars who chase you on the platform and sometimes onto the train." According to Fahmi and other passengers interviewed by the Weekly, another major complaint is constant delays. "Trains are never on time," according to Fatma Hussein, 22, "in the past, trains were always punctual; now you have to wait for at least 15 minutes for a train to arrive." With delays, come overcrowded platforms and carriages, while bad ventilation turns the experience into a "living hell," said Hussein. Naturally, Ahmed Sengr, NAT deputy head in charge of the Metro Maintenance Division, disagrees. According to Sengr, intervals between trains which operate between 05:30 and 00:30 vary throughout the day, but "time intervals are never more than three minutes during rush hours. In fact, he blamed passengers for some delays because they "sometimes forcibly hold the doors open for themselves or their friends" which holds up the train. As for bad ventilation, Sengr assured that there is a plan underway to install new fans. But commuters remain frustrated with the service. The once cheapest way to traverse the city, with tickets costing between 25 piastres and 50 piastres, has now become a unified LE1 fee for all fares. "What provokes me is that they raise ticket prices but conditions don't get any better," complained Hussien, adding that there is a growing number of passengers who don't buy tickets and force their way through the sty behind passengers who do. "It has become commonplace for passengers to rudely push through the sty behind you, without even asking first," she said. "And inside the overcrowded stations, there isn't much you can do." In Sengr's mind, congested metro stations are typical since subways are used in over-populated cities to ease traffic above ground. "Also, the number of metro users in Egypt exceeds the network's capacity, especially during rush hour," he added. The NAT deputy head further explained that the two operating lines serve an average of 2.5 million passengers per day with only 80 trains. "And some of these trains are more than a decade old," he noted. Sengr told the Weekly that there are plans in place to improve the service, such as the 63 trains which were added to the pioneer El-Marg- Helwan line last year to cope with rapidly growing transportation needs. Three more trains are expected in the near future. Yet another slated project aims to expand some stations which suffer the most congestion, such as Manshiyet Al-Sadr and Hadayeq Al-Maadi. Another major passenger complaint which Sengr countered is deteriorating sanitation at the stations and on the trains, including the presence of small insects on the trains. "All the trains are washed daily," he responded, adding that beautification projects are underway to restore stations to their original immaculate condition. In addition to maintenance projects for the two operating lines, a third line is currently under construction to connect Darrassa in the east of the city to Imbaba in the west. According to the Egyptian Tunneling Society (ETS), the third line stretches across 30.5km, of which nearly 28.5km will be underground. The route extends from Cairo Airport to Imbaba and Mohandessin (all 3km underground) and crosses under the River Nile twice. Once completed, the line will have a capacity of 2.1 million passenger per day and "will help decrease congestion problems radically," according Sengr. But metro users are sceptical about the new line. "I don't see why spend billions on a new line instead of attending to the problems of the already existing ones," said Hussien. As for the distant future, a transportation study conducted by the NAT for the Greater Cairo region concluded that altogether six metro lines are needed by the year 2022 to cope with the capital's rapidly growing population. And surely with an expanded service, there will be expanded complaints.
