Engineer Hussein Shahata, the project manager of Egypt’s New Bashteel railway station in Giza reported on Wednesday that the ongoing construction is nearing completion. 

The station has a central railroad terminal that is over 31,000 square meters in size and 164,000 square meters of railroad tracks. The terminal is excellently situated to become the city’s primary rail port for accessing Upper Egypt because it is at the intersection of several railway lines, including High Dam, Alexandria, Imbaba, El Manashi, and El Qubari.

Additionally, the station is close to the third metro line, the monorail, and the bus route. Its location makes it convenient for individuals looking to travel by rail as well as visitors coming from Upper Egypt to use Cairo’s administrative and medical facilities.

The central station, designed by architect Fouad Mahmoud, will have a 40-meter-tall glass pyramid that will let natural light flood the main area. There are also references to the lotus flower and obelisks in the main hall that will act as elevators as further Pharaonic motifs. The opening of the new station, which can handle up to 250,000 passengers per day, aims to ease traffic at Ramses Station in Downtown Cairo.

Engineer Hussein Shahata explained that “Due to the constraints of the current Ramses [railway station in Cairo], which cannot expand and faces severe congestion, this new station was essential. Ramses Station was established in 1854 to serve Egypt’s railways at a time when they had less than 400 kilometers of track and the country’s population was only four million.”

He said that Egypt’s population has since grown to 105 million, with 1.1 million passengers traveling daily on the country’s 10,000km of track. He further noted that the Bashtil station, the Southern Egpyt Railway Station is meant to take this demand with a capacity of over 250,000 passengers per day. However, the new massive station covers an area of 239,000 square meters or almost 57 acres. 

Shahata added “The project includes the main station building, covering 31,000 square meters. Additionally, the station’s facilities consist of service buildings, maintenance workshops, platforms, and railway tracks spanning 164,000 square meters.” The station also includes a 44,000-square-metre investment zone.