Riyadh: Saleh Al-Jasser, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Transport and Logistics Services, confirmed that the Riyadh Metro will begin operations this year, in line with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City’s previous announcement.
Al-Jasser said that “the project will achieve a qualitative shift in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and it is the largest metro project in the world to be built at one time.”
Al-Jasser made these statements during an interview with Al-Arabiya Business on Wednesday, August 21, following the inauguration of Maersk’s largest integrated logistics zone in the Middle East at Jeddah Islamic Port.
The Riyadh Metro is the first railway project in the Kingdom to traverse underground tunnels with depths of 20-35 meters. It operates on an automatic system, without a driver, which is managed from central control rooms.
The metro, consisting of six lines, spans 176 kilometers and connects 84 stations throughout the city.
The network, envisioned as Riyadh’s public transport backbone, will connect the city’s King Khalid International Airport (KKIA), King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), universities, and central Riyadh.
The 22.5 billion dollars project aims to transport 1.2 million daily passengers before reaching its full capacity of 3.6 million.
The metro service will help alleviate traffic congestion in Riyadh by providing an advanced and comfortable mode of transportation in the shortest possible time, according to city’s mayor, Prince Faisal bin Ayyaf.
