SAUDI ARABIA: The Royal Commission for Riyadh City has called tenders for the design and construction of a seventh metro line in the capital, with bids expected by June 15.
The 65 km first phase of Line 7 would link King Khalid International Airport in the north to Qiddiya Entertainment City in the west, serving the Diriyah Gate and the new Murabba district. It would have 19 stations, including interchanges to the existing network inaugurated at the end of last year.
‘Almost 18 million passengers used the metro in the first two months of operation and the numbers continue to grow’, Hill International’s Senior Vice President Dr Adel Jemah told Railway Gazette International. ’RCRC is already planning extensions to serve the major developments underway around Riyadh.’
As a member of the Riyadh Advanced Metro Project Execution & Delivery joint venture, Hill International provided project management and construction services for the design and construction of lines 4, 5, and 6.
‘The existing lines of the metro are enjoying high passenger usage’, Jemah reported. ’RCRC is considering increasing the capacity of the current network by introducing four-car services on lines currently running two car trains.’
Riyadh’s six-line, 176 km route-km metro network was inaugurated in phases from November 27 to January 5.
