Alstom’s Derby Litchurch Lane Works has achieved a historic milestone, with the Cairo Monorail beginning fare-paying passenger services using trains assembled and tested at the facility. It marks the first time a British factory has exported rolling stock since 2008, when Derby last shipped trains abroad for the Gautrain network in South Africa.
The trains form part of a £2.3 billion contract to construct and operate Egypt’s new monorail network, backed by UK Export Finance in one of the largest amounts of financing the credit agency has ever provided for an overseas infrastructure project. The contract was won through a competitive international tender, with the first train leaving Litchurch Lane just 20 months after contract signature. The final of 68 trains departed Derby on 16 January 2024, with the programme sustaining 150 direct jobs throughout.
Andrew DeLeone, Chief Executive Officer Europe at Alstom, said:
“Alstom has proved again that UK rail can be an export powerhouse. Litchurch Lane is a unique end-to-end rolling stock Centre of Excellence. The Cairo programme shows this site can compete and win anywhere. With UK Export Finance, we are pursuing opportunities across the Middle East, Africa and Asia to support the UK Government’s plans to maximise trade opportunities now and in the future.”
Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, added:
“Derby’s success in Cairo shows what Britain can achieve when government and business pull together — exporting to new markets, winning global contracts, and bringing jobs and investment back to communities across the UK.”
The Cairo Monorail System
The Innovia monorail system in Cairo is the first of its kind in Africa and one of the most significant urban transit projects in the region. The first phase spans 26 miles (42 km) — a distance comparable to the length of London’s Jubilee line — and runs above street level on pre-cast beams, designed to reduce commute times, cut road congestion and lower carbon emissions across a metropolitan area of more than 20 million people.
The driverless network covers two lines serving Cairo’s rapidly growing suburban population and is designed to carry up to 45,000 passengers per hour, per direction. It uses Alstom’s proven Innovia monorail platform, which is also in service in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Las Vegas.
Looking Ahead
Alstom’s monorail capability at Litchurch Lane is well established, with the team developing further projects across the Middle East, Africa and Asia alongside UK Export Finance, targeting urban areas where demand for cost-effective, high-capacity rapid transit is growing.
In parallel, Alstom has invested £35 million at Derby as part of a three-year research programme that has produced Adessia, its new-generation train platform designed specifically for Britain’s rail network. Adessia builds on the proven Aventra platform, with fleets having already delivered a combined 100 million passenger miles in London and across the UK.
Litchurch Lane remains the only site in Britain capable of designing, engineering, building and testing trains for both domestic and export markets — a capability that, without it, would make the UK the only G7 economy without such a facility.