Egypt to Launch Trial Operation of Capital Monorail in July
H-Tayea
The National Authority for Tunnels has announced that the trial operation of Egypt's New Administrative Capital monorail will begin in July 2025, initially running between the Capital and El-Moshir Station without public passengers.
According to Major General Tarek Gamal El-Din, head of the Authority, trial runs will extend to Cairo Stadium Station in Nasr City by the end of the year, with full trial operation of the entire line expected in early 2026.
The East Nile Monorail project will include 22 stations and a centralized command and control center.
The stations on the line are: El Adala, Misr Mosque, Government District, City of Arts and Culture, Business District, District R2, Al-Fattah Al-Aleem Mosque, Bait Al Watan, Golden Square, Lotus, Investors, Narges, Air Force Specialized Hospital, One-Ninety, El-Moshir Tantawy, Gehan El Sadat, El-Moshir Ahmed Ismail, District 7, Al-Azhar University, Hesham Barakat, and Cairo International Stadium.
One of the most distinctive features of the monorail is that it is fully automated and driverless, controlled by a centralized operations center in the New Administrative Capital.
Each train is equipped with internal and external surveillance cameras, sensors, fire and smoke detection systems, and a remote communication system with the control room, ensuring maximum safety and security.
Spanning 56.5 kilometers, the monorail line will connect Cairo Stadium in Nasr City to the control center in the New Administrative Capital. The project is being implemented by a consortium comprising Alstom, Orascom Construction, and Arab Contractors.
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A renewed political consciousness emerged, reclaiming Palestine from the periphery. This awakening did not stem from official declarations but from the people, particularly the youth, who embraced the cause as their own. Do you discern a substantive transformation in the consciousness of Arab youth towards the Palestinian cause? Absolutely. The intensity of youth engagement on digital platforms—calls for boycott, cultural campaigns, protest art, slogans, and anthems—has been extraordinary. Arab youth are no longer passive witnesses; they are active agents of change. They didn't wait for leadership—they led. This is no passing moment, but a deeper reawakening of cultural and political awareness. The fire of the cause continues to burn brightly in their hearts. And how do you assess the role of the Arab intellectual in this milieu? Has the intellectual sphere fulfilled its historic duty? Without the enduring efforts of Arab intellectuals, the Palestinian cause would not have retained its central place in our consciousness. I, too, contributed with my novel 'Coloured Beads.' Since the Nakba, Arab writers and thinkers—from the Maghreb to the Gulf—have produced an immense and powerful body of work. Palestinian literature, especially, remains vital: Ghassan Kanafani's 'Men in the Sun' and 'Returning to Haifa,' the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish and Samih Al-Qassem—these works form the cultural spine of resistance and remembrance. What of the representation of the Palestinian cause in the realm of visual arts? Visual art has proven one of the most evocative mediums for conveying the Palestinian experience. I recently attended an exhibition by Khaled Samahi, where one striking piece showed a masked youth with a gaze that proclaimed: 'I am here… I remain.' I was moved to acquire it. My wife, Nazli Madkour, a prominent visual artist, and I have assembled a collection captured in the book 'Jabal Al-Narjis' (Mount Narcissus), curated by Dr Magda Saad El-Din and photographed by Emad Abdel-Hadi. These works do not merely depict—they bear witness. Art becomes resistance. Do you perceive a genuine shift in the portrayal of Palestine within the global media landscape following the recent hostilities? Without question. For the first time in decades, the dominant Zionist narrative appeared visibly shaken. Global media could not ignore the sheer scale of the atrocities. The most powerful images—of children beneath rubble, bombed hospitals, devastated schools—emerged not from major networks but from Arab youth. Alternative media proved that truth, when persistently and fearlessly articulated, cannot be silenced. In one of your essays, you characterised the Palestinian child as the 'Personality of the Year.' What inspired that poignant declaration? Because no image this year has been more searing than that of the Palestinian child—dust-covered, traumatised, searching the rubble for a mother or a glimmer of hope. These children, robbed of innocence and safety, have become the living embodiment of a seventy-year struggle. When the world is finally shaken by the bombing of a sleeping child, something in the collective conscience irrevocably shifts. Lastly, what does Palestine signify to Mohamed Salmawy, both on a personal and symbolic plane? Palestine is not simply a national cause—it is a matter of existential identity. It is not just a place on the map, but the repository of memory, dignity, and spirit. It is the ultimate measure of one's moral compass. Those who turn their backs on Palestine renounce their very essence. To deny it is to reject our past and betray our future. Palestine is the mirror through which we see ourselves—and if that image is shattered, so too is our reflection.
