Bechtel Celebrates Opening of Riyadh Metro Project

The official inauguration of the Riyadh Metro network was recently celebrated. As Saudi Arabia’s first underground railway project, it is expected to initially serve 1.2 million daily passengers, with ultimately a planned maximum capacity of 3.6 million passengers daily.

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), officially operational, and the Red Line (line 2), scheduled to soon commence passenger operations. The BACS consortium also built the Red Line which runs east to west. Together, the Blue and Red lines cover 63 kilometers of track and 40 stations.

The 85-station, 6-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.

Sustainability has been a central feature of the project with renewable energy providing power to some of the stations. It’s estimated the Riyadh Metro will play a pivotal role in increasing the public transport share in the city from 2% to 18% by 2030.