Work Begins on Riyadh Metro

Written by Adam Gonn

Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, is the latest city in the Gulf to begin construction on a light rail system.

Work on a light rail network has begun in the Saudi Arabian capital in an effort to reduce congestion and air pollution.

The Arriyadh Development Authority, the body responsible for the development of Riyadh, initiated the construction of a light rail system to include 36 stations along a 16-mile North-South track.

There are plans to add a second 9-mile East-West track with 13 stations following its completion.

“You can’t tell for now but I think it will be useful, the city is really crowded,” Saudi Blogger Ahmed Al-Omran Aka Saudi Jeans, told The Media Line.

“6.5 million people live here and there is practically no public transportation system so it should be useful. Even if only a small part of the population start to use it, it will be good to release the streets from all the congestion,” Al-Omran said, himself a resident of Riyadh.

According to Arriyadh, some 87% of the city’s population use cars as their primary mode of transport.

The trains are expected to carry 1500 passengers an hour, but that number is expected to increase to 8000 once the system if fully functioning.

“There has been a huge revival of the fortunes of railways around the world,” David Briginshaw, Editor-in-Chief of International Rail Journal, told The Media Line regarding the current surge in metro construction.

“Transport Ministers, Governments and transport planners have realized the real benefits of investing in rail transport, in terms of its ability to solve traffic congestion problems and its very good environmental credentials,” he said. “Any city that knows its worth know that they have to have a rail system and that they can’t go on building more roads.”

Tenders for Riyadh’s light rail system were issued in 2003, but construction was delayed and comes just months after Dubai inaugurated its own system on September 9 under much fanfare.

The Dubai Metro took 49 months to build at a cost of $7 billion.

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirate, announced that it will also construct its own metro as part of a massive $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

In October, plans for a regional network to connect all six countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council - Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, was presented.

The initial estimated cost of $14 billion has since been raised to $25 billion, due to changing technical specifications, an issue at the heart of negotiations among regional heads.

The regional network is scheduled to be completed by 2017.

Source: The Media Line.
Link: http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=27053.