New photos from the AFP published in Gulf News show Riyadh’s forthcoming new metro rail, set to connect the city long plagued by significant traffic woes and enable citizens to get around between the city’s districts.
The Riyadh Metro network.
The first lines of Riyadh’s six-line, 176-km (109 mile) metro network are due to commence operation in mid-2021. Photos released by the AFP and published in Gulf News show new, sleek trains and modern stations. Once completed, the metro system will have 84 stations.
Work on the $23-billion Riyadh metro project kicked off in April 2014. The Saudi capital city is also developing an integrated city-wide 1,900-km (1180 mile) bus network with around 3,000 stops.
U.S.-based Bechtel, Inc. is one of the main contractors working on the Metro project’s development.
Riyadh’s population of nearly 6 million is forecast to increase to 8 million by 2030.
The trains for Riyadh’s forthcoming metro project on lines 1 and 2 will reportedly have three separate classes of cars for citizens and expats, according to reports.
International design firms have been contracted to design many of Riyadh’s metro stops. Famed architecture firm Zaha Hadid designed the station at the King Abdullah Financial District stop. Other architect and design firms include Snohetta from Norway, Gerber Architekten from Germany, and Saudi-based Omrania & Associates.
