EGYPT: Thales has been subcontracted to supply signalling, security and ticketing systems for the first metro line in Alexandria.
The 21·7 km line is being developed by a consortium of Orascom Construction and Colas Rail under a €1·3bn contract awarded by the National Authority for Tunnels on September 7. This covers the conversion to metro standards of an existing suburban railway which runs from Misr station in the city centre to Abu Qir in the northeast.
The consortium has selected Thales to supply SelTrac communications-based train control and telecommunications systems, as well as equipping the operations control centre. The company will also install a security system combining CCTV and video management.
Thales is to supply automatic fare collection systems for the metro, based on its Transcity ticketing technologies which support smartphone-based QR Code tickets, contactless bank cards and smartphone payments.
‘Thales has a long heritage in Egypt, as we worked with NAT on the Cairo metro right from the beginning, 35 years ago’, commented Alessio Bencivenni, Director of Thales Ground Transportation Systems in Egypt. He said the company would ‘ensure seamless integration of all subsystems, enabling rapid responses to network incidents with minimal downtime and optimal efficiency’.
