How Egypt Is Building a 19km Metro Beneath a Museum Beside the Pyramids
Iron Earth
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Cairo Metro Line 4 is carving nearly 19 km through Greater Cairo, including a 6.73 m TBM passage beneath the Grand Egyptian Museum beside the Pyramids of Giza.
Phase 1 includes 17 stations, 16 underground, while six tunnel-boring machines work across the city. Near the museum, engineers must guide a machine almost 22 feet wide through curves as tight as 322 m while protecting buildings, utilities and a globally important heritage corridor. By September 2026, Phase 1 had reached about 65% completion.
0:00 — A Giant Machine Beside the Pyramids
0:55 — Why This Route Is So Difficult
2:30 — The Invisible Problem Under Cairo
4:35 — Building the Tunnel Behind the TBM
7:05 — Six Machines, Seventeen Stations
10:20 — The Water-Pipe Crisis
12:20 — Turning Tunnels Into a Railway
13:55 — Beneath the Grand Egyptian Museum
15:20 — The Pyramids Station Milestone
16:35 — What Happens Next
Key facts: 184 railcars, 23 eight-car trains, a 316,500 m² depot and a 6.35 km tunnelling milestone toward Pyramids Station.
Mega Engineering explores the world’s most difficult construction projects and the machines that push engineering to its limits.
Sources: JICA, Egypt National Authority for Tunnels, Egypt State Information Service, SELI Overseas.
DISCLAIMER
____________________________________
This is not engineering advice. Everything here is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Contact an engineer licensed to practice in your area if you need professional advice or services. All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.
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How Egypt Is Building a 19km Metro Beneath a Museum Beside the Pyramids
Iron Earth
417 views
Cairo Metro Line 4 is carving nearly 19 km through Greater Cairo, including a 6.73 m TBM passage beneath the Grand Egyptian Museum beside the Pyramids of Giza.
Phase 1 includes 17 stations, 16 underground, while six tunnel-boring machines work across the city. Near the museum, engineers must guide a machine almost 22 feet wide through curves as tight as 322 m while protecting buildings, utilities and a globally important heritage corridor. By September 2026, Phase 1 had reached about 65% completion.
0:00 — A Giant Machine Beside the Pyramids
0:55 — Why This Route Is So Difficult
2:30 — The Invisible Problem Under Cairo
4:35 — Building the Tunnel Behind the TBM
7:05 — Six Machines, Seventeen Stations
10:20 — The Water-Pipe Crisis
12:20 — Turning Tunnels Into a Railway
13:55 — Beneath the Grand Egyptian Museum
15:20 — The Pyramids Station Milestone
16:35 — What Happens Next
Key facts: 184 railcars, 23 eight-car trains, a 316,500 m² depot and a 6.35 km tunnelling milestone toward Pyramids Station.
Mega Engineering explores the world’s most difficult construction projects and the machines that push engineering to its limits.
Sources: JICA, Egypt National Authority for Tunnels, Egypt State Information Service, SELI Overseas.
DISCLAIMER
____________________________________
This is not engineering advice. Everything here is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Contact an engineer licensed to practice in your area if you need professional advice or services. All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.