The Green Line will run across the country’s north, from Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea to Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean, crossing two Cairo satellite cities – the New Administrative Capital to the east, and to the west 6th of October City, home to Egypt’s only dry port.
According to Tarek Goueili, head of the National Authority for Tunnels, Egypt’s revamped rail network will carry 15 million tonnes of cargo per year – 3% of last year’s Suez Canal transit volume.
For those behind it, the Green Line is also an urban planning bet.
To ease pressure on Greater Cairo
With desert accounting for most of Egypt’s million square kilometres, the vast majority of Egypt’s 108 million people are stacked vertically along the Nile River and its delta.
After its inauguration, the Green Line will be followed by the Blue Line, which will track the Nile linking Cairo to Aswan, and the Red Line, which will connect the Red Sea cities of Hurghada and Safaga inland to Luxor.