# Bashteel railway station

Bashteel Railway Station (Arabic: محطة بشتيل), also called Upper Egypt Railway Station (Arabic: محطة قطارات صعيد مصر), is a major railway station in Giza, Egypt. Intended to serve as a new major railway hub in Greater Cairo and to relieve congestion at Ramses Station, Bashteel station opened on November 7, 2024.

## Location

The station is located in the middle of a railway junction between the Bashteel and Agouza districts of the Giza Governorate, in the west of Greater Cairo. The tracks that split to the east cross the Nile river to reach Ramses railway station in Cairo, while the western tracks travel north on the west bank of the Nile. The tracks to the south reach Giza.

## History

Plans to build a new railway station in the Bashteel district of the Giza Governorate were announced in March of 2019 by Egyptian Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir. The Government of Egypt claimed the construction of the station was motivated by the need to reduce pressure from the main Ramses railway station, which received about 20 percent of the total daily commuter traffic. The project would be divided in two phases; the first centered on a new railway maintenance complex and the second on the passenger station.
Construction started in August 2020. The works were awarded to an Egyptian constuction company, Hassan Allam Holding, which would enter a partnership with the Ministry of Transportation and the Egyptian Railway Authority to build the station. The worksite occupied a 31.000 square meter plot of land on the mainline railway line between Giza railway station and Ramses railway station, by the Agouza district in the area known as Mohandiseen.
An official inauguration of the station was held on October 12, 2024. It was attended by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir. Officials claimed the station had capacity for 250.000 daily passegners, featuring 12 platforms and 28 ticket windows. The station complex also includes a shopping centre, hotel, multi-storey car park, besides new office space and housing.
The station opened to the public on November 7, 2024, with 10 platforms in service.

## Structure

The design of the station is inspired by Ancient Egypt, with a 40-metre-tall glass pyramid and four obelisks at the center of the station building.
Bashteel is a junction station, with six platforms on the railway line towards Ramses railway station to the north-east and four platforms on the north-south line on the west bank of the Nile between Al-Manashy and Giza station. The station building is triangular, with tracks splitting to its south and platforms on the eastern and western facades of the building.
The station features a train maintenance and repair workshop, and a platform dedicated to freight.

## Train services

While Ramses railway station remains open and still handles a significant amount of traffic, it is expected that most rail service between Cairo and Upper Egypt will be gradually moved to Bashteel.

## Connecting services

While the station features no direct connection to the Cairo Metro, several stations of the Line 3 branch to Cairo University are located in its vicinity (Tawfikia and Wadi El Nile stations). The currently under construction Cairo Monorail line to 6th of October City and Cairo's bus rapid transit project are planned to serve the station.