By Jake Lippincott
Head of the state-run company that manages the Cairo Metro, Ali Fadaly, has announced that the Sadat Metro station, located under Tahrir Square, will partially reopen within 20 days, according to state-owned news agency MENA.
Sadat Station was closed last August after violent clashes erupted between protesters and police, which left around 1,000 dead. According to state-run Al-Ahram, officials shut down the station due to “security concerns”.
Both Tahrir Square and the Sadat Metro Station have been instrumental in the various protest movements that have rocked Egypt during the past three years. The massive turnouts in successive Tahrir Square protests were facilitated in large part by the square’s proximity to Sadat Metro Station.
The current interim government, which was installed after protests in Tahrir and elsewhere replaced the elected government of Mohamed Morsi, has repeatedly cracked down on pro-Morsi activists and on certain days, most recently 6 April, has blocked access to the square.
However, despite its importance to the ongoing political struggle, Sadat Metro Station is also vitally important to Cairo commuters, both due to its central location and because it is one of two stations where it is possible to transfer between the two main metro lines. The closure has caused problems in the already crowded metro system and has inconvenienced millions of Egyptians.
The station is set to open only for transfers between lines, while entrances to and from the surface will remain closed, according to MENA.
