King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has formally inaugurated the Riyadh Metro on November 27, 2024, with transport operation to begin from December 1, 2025.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), said that the “Riyadh public transport system, comprising metro and bus services, is the culmination of concerted efforts made by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the outcome of his visionary leadership, while serving as the Chairman of the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh, the predecessor of RCRC.”
Riyadh Metro network comprises six lines totalling 176 km served by 85 stations.
The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) has announced that starting December 1, 2024, Riyadh Metro will put into sequential operation with the inauguration of the first three of six lines, followed by the next three lines, all to be opened in December.
The initial phase will witness the inauguration of Line 1 (Blue Line) on the Al Olaya – Al Batha route, alongside Line 4 (Yellow Line), running from King Khalid International Airport Road to the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) and Line 6 (Purple Line), stretching across Abdulrahman bin Auf Road and Sheikh Hassan bin Hussein bin Ali Road.
On December 15, 2024, RCRC will also inaugurate Line 2 (Red Line) running east–west along King Abdullah Road, between King Saud University and the King Fahd International Stadium and Line 5 (Green Line), running underground in a tunnel along King Abdulaziz Street, between King Abdul Aziz Historical Centre and Riyadh Airbase, before connecting with King Abdullah Road.
The culmination of this Riyadh Metro rollout will occur on January 5, 2025, with Line 3 (Orange Line), Al Madinah Al Munawwarah Road, marking the full operation of all six lines, servicing 85 stations, including four main stations.
The Riyadh Metro system will be the backbone of the city’s public transport significantly reducing emissions while improving air quality. The new network directly supports the Kingdom’s goals for sustainable urban development and economic diversification.
The metro network has been designed to a maximum capacity of 3.6 million daily passengers, reducing road transport while cutting internal fuel consumption by up to around 1 million gallons annually.
Under the train contract, Alstom delivers 47 Innovia metro trains for the Orange Line and 69 Metropolis metro trains for the Yellow, Green, and Purple lines, custom-designed for Riyadh’s specific needs, offering superior performance and efficiency. Alstom is also providing comprehensive maintenance services for the Orange, Yellow, Green and Purple lines.
Riyadh Metro is a fully automated network operating with driverless train operation at GoA 4.
Line 1 and Line 2: In 2013, the Royal Commission for Riyadh City awarded BACS consortium to design and build these two lines. The consortium comprises civil works JV (consisting of Bechtel, Almabani and CCC) and transit system contractor – won by Siemens. The lines have a total length of 63 km of main track with 38 stations, and include 18 km of tunnels, 25 km of viaducts and three depots. Siemens Mobility was awarded the contract to deliver a total of 67 metro trains. USD 9.4 billion was the value of the contract for these two lines.
The 38 km Line 1 runs on north–south axis from Olaya Street to Al Hayer Road and is served by 22 stations, four of which are transfer stations, connecting the other lines.
The 25.3 km Line 2 runs on east-west direction along King Abdullah Road, between King Saud University and the King Fahd International Stadium. The line is served by 13 stations, three of them designed as interchange hubs.
Riyadh Metro Line 3 is the longest one, with a length of 40.7 km of which 26.4 km of viaducts witrh 10 stations, 11 km of underground section with 8 stations and 4.8 km at-grade section with 2 shallow-underground stations (including a transfer station). The line with 22 stations runs east–west from Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah Road to Prince Saad Bin Abdurrahman I Road. The project also included the construction of two 2 depots, and six park & ride facilities. The ANM consortium won a USD 5.2 billion to develop this line. The consortium comprises Webuild, Larsen&Toubro, Nesma, Hitachi Rail, Alstom, Idom and WorleyParsons.
A USD 7.9 billion contract was awarded to the FAST Consortium, led by FCC Construction to design and build lines 4, 5 and 6 of the Riyadh metro system. The consortium comprises Samsung C&T Corporation, Alstom Transport, Strukton Civiel, Freyssinet Saudi Arabia, Atkins, Tecnica Y Proyectos and Setec. The contract covers the construction of 64.6 km of tracks, 30 km of viaducts and 26 km of underground sections, and8.2 km of overground track.
Line 4 is a 29.5 km connection from the King Khalid International Airport to the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD). The 12.9 km Line 5 with 9 stations runs un tunnel along the King Abdulaziz Street, between King Abdul Aziz Historical Centre and Riyadh Airbase, before connecting with King Abdullah Road. The 29.7 km Line 6 with 11 stations runs from King Abdullah Financial District to Prince Saad Ibn Abdulrahman Al Awal Road, via Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University.
In 2018, Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) awarded Flow Consortium a EUR 2.5 billion contract to operate and maintain lines 3,4,5 and 6 for a period of 12 years. The consortium is led by Hitachi Rail STS (previously Ansaldo STS) and includes Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane and Alstom. The three lines cover 113 km and 50 stations including 2 main station and 5 interchange stations,3 depots and 3 OCCs.
Rolling stock:
The project features 190 fully automated trains that are uniformly designed and built for high passenger comfort and energy efficiency specifications.
- 74 Inspiro trains manufactured by Siemens Mobility for the Lines 1 and 2
- 47 Innovia metro 300 trains manufactured by Alstom for Line 3
- 69 Metropolis trainsets manufactured by Alstom for Lines 4, 5 and 6
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