Saudi Arabia’s first underground railway project, the Riyadh Metro, has been officially inaugurated; a milestone welcomed by the consortium that built it.
The network is expected to initially serve 1.2m daily passengers, with an ultimate planned maximum capacity of 3.6m passengers a day.
The project was delivered by the BACS consortium, which includes Bechtel, Almabani General Contractors, Consolidated Contractors Company, and Siemens.
The consortium was responsible for the design, construction, testing, commissioning and integration of the network’s Blue Line (line 1), operational now, and the Red Line (line 2), set to officially commence passenger operations soon.
Darren Mort, president of Bechtel’s infrastructure business, said: “The Riyadh Metro will transform travel in Saudi Arabia by offering a more sustainable and efficient mode of transportation for millions of people.
“As one of the most complex projects that Bechtel has ever undertaken, I am especially proud of our team for overcoming many technical challenges and completing this project with the utmost skill and ingenuity. Bechtel is honoured to have played a leading role in delivering this iconic metro network.”
The 85-station, six-line Riyadh Metro Project is being launched in stages. The Blue Line is one of the first to partially open and will run North to South through Downtown Riyadh. The line will run by several notable stations, including the iconic King Abdullah Financial District Station with its undulating roof, and the STC Olaya Station, located more than 100 feet below ground.
Other key components of the project, include:
- The BACS consortium also built the Red Line which runs East to West. Together, the Blue and Red lines cover 63.1 kilometres of track and 40 stations
- Sustainability has been a central feature of the project with renewable energy providing power to some of the stations. It is estimated that the Riyadh Metro will play a pivotal role in increasing the current public transport share in the city from 2% to 18% by 2030
Brendan Bechtel, Bechtel’s chairman and chief executive, said in a blog on the company’s website: “The project pushed the boundaries of what’s possible. Since breaking ground in 2014, the Riyadh Metro has been the world’s largest rail project under construction over the past decade or so – not to mention one of the largest in Bechtel’s history. The job site spanned 800 square kilometres, an area bigger than New York City.”
Main image: Riyadh Metro’s King Abdullah Financial District station. Courtesy of Bechtel
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