Saudi Gazette report

DAVOS — Fahd Al-Rasheed, CEO of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, revealed that the operation of King Abdulaziz Public Transport Project in Riyadh would begin in March 2023.

He said on Wednesday “we will start operating the public transport project with bus transportation and then with the different metro lines.”

King Abdulaziz Public Transport Project in Riyadh is one of the ambitious plans set by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City to provide integrated solutions for public transport.

It includes 6 metro lines, 84 metro stations, 80 bus routes, 2,860 bus stops and 842 buses. Riyadh metro is the largest single-phase public transport project ever developed.

Al-Rasheed noted that the commission is considering the expansion of the metro lines.

He told Al-Arabiya TV that the Riyadh strategy would be announced in 2023. “The strategy took time because it is deep and includes several projects.”

Riyadh Metro covers a length of approximately 176km of railway lines, on which electric trains operate without drivers.

Al-Rasheed spoke at Saudi Arabia’s Misk Foundation Youth Majlis at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday.

He revealed that the city has over 30 mega projects under way. Qiddiya, Diriyah and some global sustainable examples such as Green Riyadh, King Salman Park, and the metro are some of them.

“They’re launched and we’re closing in on many of them, especially the metro.”

The project is expected to bring down the number of car trips by approximately 250,000 trips per day, and saving around 400,000 liters of fuel per day, and thus cutting down the percentage of carbon emissions.