Saudi Arabia is building the largest urban transit system ever made from scratch
Zaha Hadid Architects
Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, boasts a population of over six million. But as of now, it has no public transportation system.
That’s about to change. By the end of 2018, the city is expected to open the biggest urban mass transit system that’s ever been created from scratch.
The new network, which is currently under construction, will be comprised of six metro lines that connect 85 stations and span nearly 110 miles of track. A brand new bus system is being built and implemented simultaneously.
Saudi officials approved the plan in 2012 after population grown forecasts for Riyadh suggested a 50% increase by 2035.
To create the system, the Saudi government awarded contracts to a variety of contracting and engineering companies from all over the world. The largest contract, worth a whopping $10 billion, was given to Bechtel, a U.S.-based firm specializing in mega-projects. (You may recognize their work from England’s Channel Tunnel, the Bay Area’s BART system or Athens’ Metro.) According to Fortune, Bechtel's Riyadh project is the biggest lump-sum civil engineering contract that’s ever been given to a single team.
Bechtel, with the help of a consortium that includes Almabani General Contractors, the Consolidated Contractors Company and Siemans, is in charge of the two most complicated lines of the system’s six. Together, the group is responsible for the entire design and construction process, cars, signals, wiring and all. The nearly 40 miles of track are currently being built underneath central Riyadh and include 39 stations.
Zaha Hadid Architects
To build the system, Bechtel is using powerful tunnel boring machines, which weigh 1,000 tons and are called Mneefah after the horse ridden by Saudi Arabia’s founding king. Each machine can tunnel through the earth at a rate of 325 feet per week, laying concrete panels as it goes.
The trains that run through those new tunnels will be equally state-of-the-art. The vehicles, created by Siemens, will be automatic and driverless, and can run up to 90 miles per hour. Each is fully air conditioned, as are the stations, which are also all equipped with WiFi. According to Saudi Arabia’s High Commission for the development of Arriyadh, roughly 20% of the system's power will come from solar energy harvested from cells at the stations.Zaha Hadid Architects
The system’s four main stations were each been designed by different architecture firms from around the world. Zaha Hadid Architects are behind the Financial District station, which has six levels — four above ground, two below — and connects three different lines.
The renderings of the station's futuristic platform (below) put older transit systems like New York City's subway to shame.
Zaha Hadid Architects