By Rehab Saad Transport Minister Suleiman Metwalli, alongside other dignitaries, attended an historic experiment Sunday, when they rode in the first subway train ever to cross beneath the Nile. Engineers were testing the new underground line connecting Tahrir Square in the heart of Cairo with Cairo University in Giza. The five km-long line is the third phase of the second Greater Cairo underground line and will be officially opened on 25 April as part of the celebrations marking the liberation of the Sinai. The fourth phase will link Cairo University with the Giza railway station and will become operational by the year 2001. "In April, the governorates of Cairo, Giza and Qalyubiya will be connected by a subway for the first time," said Moqbel El-Shafei, head of the National Authority for Tunnels. He explained that the third phase, which cost LE1,750 million, will be served by three underground stations at Gezira, Dokki and the Research Institute [Bohouth], as well as by a surface station at Cairo University. According to Authority officials, the section of the line that runs below the Nile is 380 metres long. A giant digging machine, known as Nefertiti, began digging at a point 70 metres from Al-Gala' Bridge, 10 metres below the Nile bed. From there it passed under the Opera House and the Mukhtar Museum until it reached the Gezira station. Nefertiti then continued digging below the main branch of the Nile to the right of Qasr Al-Nil bridge until it reached Tahrir Square. Around 90 per cent of the work on the third phase is now complete, including the concrete structure for the tunnel from Sadat station below Tahrir Square to Cairo University. Lights and signals have been installed, as well as air-conditioning, electric escalators and elevators for the elderly and disabled. "For the first time the train will be supplied with electricity through a third rail on the ground, instead of using an overhead electric network, as for the first line between Marg and Helwan," El-Shafei said. "This is one of the main characteristics of the second line and guarantees that the electricity will never be cut during operation." El-Shafei added that six-carriage trains, running at a speed of 80 km per hour, will carry about 1,350 seated passengers. "There will be three methods of operation: manually by a driver, semi-automatic and fully automatic, without any interference from the driver," he said. El-Shafei explained that there is a control room at the Mubarak station below Ramses Square, where technicians can stop the train if any danger signals appear on the screen. "The second line is completely safe," he affirmed. According to studies conducted by the Authority, the number of passengers using the second line each day is expected to rise to 1.5 million once the third phase is operational, and to 1.7 million with the completion of the fourth phase. The trip from Shubra Al-Kheima in Qalyubiya to Cairo University in Giza will take 25 minutes. Opera goers also stand to benefit from the completion of the third phase because it passes by the Opera House. In fact, one of the entrances to the station is inside the Opera House grounds. According to officials, this station was specially planned for the convenience of opera goers and opera employees. A box office will be available at the station where opera goers can pick up their tickets. Minister Metwalli announced that a third subway line is also under consideration. The 29 km-line will run from Imbaba in Giza to Cairo International Airport. Work will be divided into three phases: the first from Ataba station to Cairo Stadium in Nasr City, the second from Imbaba to Ataba and the third from Cairo Stadium to Cairo Airport, Metwalli said.
