In June 2013, a shortlist of three major global consortia was chosen to build the metro, while construction contracts totalling USD 22.5bn were awarded in July 2013. More than 73km of the metro would be underground. One of the world’s largest turnkey metro projects, this fully automatic driverless network will be over 170km and have 87 stations on six lines, and is scheduled for completion in 2018, the High Commission for the Development of Riyadh (HCDR) announced on 24 January 2014.
The HCDR said the train network would have the tunnels concentrated in the most densely populated parts of the city with the most traffic congestion. The plan is to reduce traffic congestion, enhance economic dynamism of the capital and improve the general quality of life.
The underground tunnels are 41.7 per cent of the total length of the project. This includes the 12.9km King Abdulaziz line from King Abdullah Road to the King Abdulaziz Historical Center. About 3.3km of the King Abdullah Road line will be underground, while the middle part of the 17.3km Al-Olaya/Al-Batha line will consist of one tunnel that will extend from Al-Murooj neighborhood to Qasr Al-Hukum area.
The HCDR said that 10.7 per cent of the metro would run on the level of the city’s roads over 18.9km. About 47 per cent of the metro, or 83.8km, would run on elevated overpasses in the northern, southern and western parts of the city.
The metro project is expected to begin with 202 cars and may be increased to 338 to meet possible future demand. It will have a daily capacity of 1.16 million passengers initially and may be increased to 3.6 million passengers in the future. Riyadh has nearly 6 million inhabitants, and the population is expected to cross the 8 million-mark in 2030.
In the words of project consultants: "Riyadh Metro is a landmark project, which will raise standards of living and support long-term sustainable development throughout the city, acting as a catalyst for further investment in all aspects of the public realm and built environment."
The HCDR stated previously that the project has assigned a color code for each line through the city. The blue metro serves the Olaya-Batha line, green the King Abdullah Road line, red the Madinah-Prince Saad bin Abdulrahman Al-Awal line, orange the King Khaled Airport Road line, yellow the underground tunnel line along King Abdulaziz Street between King Abdulaziz Historical Center and the Riyadh Airbase, and the purple the Abdulrahman bin Auf and Al-Sheikh Hassan bin Hussain line.
