Cairo has the only major subway system in Africa, three lines, Mistubishi rolling stock, full sized trains and tons upon tons of people. Also it’s the most “locals only” subway I’ve ever seen, in a week I did not see a single other tourist on a train.
It was also the friendliest subway I’ve ridden anywhere, people saying hi, offering me their seat, their water, over and over.
The system is also, despite having only three lines, the most confusing I have ever ridden. The English signage is either totally nonexistent or completely inconsistent. For example signs that tell you this train is going “West” or to “Giza” or to “El-Mounib” or to “Al-Moniq” or to “Al-Mounib” are ALL the saying the same thing. None of the stations colour code the signage in any way nor are the lines named. Eventually I just had to start memorizing things and figuring out the Arabic signs.
Who could find this map confusing?
Yup….
Line One:
Line Two:
The only time I saw stations empty was late morning, the city steadily gathers steam all through the day, peaking around 10pm.
A Bit Gone 