flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Saudi Arabia capital city Riyadh is building a massive public transit system

Transit Facilities

Saudi Arabia capital city Riyadh is building a massive public transit system

More than 110 miles of track will connect 85 stations over six lines. The cars can reach speeds up to 90 mph, and Zaha Hadid Architects designed one of the train depots.


By Mike Chamernik, Associate Editor | May 20, 2016
Saudi Arabia capital city Riyadh is building a massive public transit system

King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station. Rendering couresy Zaha Hadid Architects. Click here to enlarge.

For several American cities, the infrastructure for their public transit systems have been in place for more than a century. It’s almost like Chicago, New York City, and Boston laid down train tracks the day after they were founded.

Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia and the home to 6 million people, is building its first light rail system from scratch.

Tech Insider reports that the city is building six metro lines that connect 85 stations over nearly 110 miles of track. Also, a new bus system will be implemented. 

For $10 billion, the Saudi government hired the U.S. construction and civil engineering firm Bechtel to lead the project. Bechtel assembled a group of contractor firms, and they are using 1,000-ton boring machines to hollow out train tunnels underneath the city for nearly 40 miles of track for 39 stations.

A few major architects have even designed train stations. Zaha Hadid Architects, for instance, designed the King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station, which will connect Lines 1, 4, and 6. The building will have a wavy lattice exterior and will contain four public levels and two underground levels of parking. 

The trains themselves will be nicer than any American rapid transit vehicle. The trains will be automatic, driverless, fully air conditioned, and Wi-Fi accessible. They can run up to 90 mph. Around 20% of the system’s power will come from solar energy.

The new transit system is expected to be ready by the end of 2018. Public transit will come just in time for the growing city, as estimates say that Riyadh’s population could reach 9 million by 2035.

 

Exterior of the King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station. Rendering courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects. Click to enlarge.

Related Stories

| Apr 13, 2011

Duke University parking garage driven to LEED certification

People parking their cars inside the new Research Drive garage at Duke University are making history—they’re utilizing the country’s first freestanding LEED-certified parking structure.

| Dec 17, 2010

Subway entrance designed to exude Hollywood charm

The Hollywood/Vine Metro portal and public plaza in Los Angeles provides an entrance to the Red Line subway and the W Hollywood Hotel. Local architect Rios Clementi Hale Studio designed the portal and plaza to flow with the landmark theaters and plazas that surround it.

| Nov 3, 2010

Sailing center sets course for energy efficiency, sustainability

The Milwaukee (Wis.) Community Sailing Center’s new facility on Lake Michigan counts a geothermal heating and cooling system among its sustainable features. The facility was designed for the nonprofit instructional sailing organization with energy efficiency and low operating costs in mind.

| Oct 13, 2010

Community college plans new campus building

Construction is moving along on Hudson County Community College’s North Hudson Campus Center in Union City, N.J. The seven-story, 92,000-sf building will be the first higher education facility in the city.

| Oct 12, 2010

Building 13 Naval Station, Great Lakes, Ill.

27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Gold Award. Designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt and constructed in 1903, Building 13 is one of 39 structures within the Great Lakes Historic District at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill.

| Sep 13, 2010

World's busiest land port also to be its greenest

A larger, more efficient, and supergreen border crossing facility is planned for the San Ysidro (Calif.) Port of Entry to better handle the more than 100,000 people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border there each day.

| Aug 11, 2010

JE Dunn, Balfour Beatty among country's biggest institutional building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report

A ranking of the Top 50 Institutional Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants

| Aug 11, 2010

Jacobs, Arup, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest international design firms

A ranking of the Top 75 International Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Adaptive Reuse

Detroit’s Michigan Central Station, centerpiece of innovation hub, opens

The recently opened Michigan Central Station in Detroit is the centerpiece of a 30-acre technology and cultural hub that will include development of urban transportation solutions. The six-year adaptive reuse project of the 640,000 sf historic station, created by the same architect as New York’s Grand Central Station, is the latest sign of a reinvigorating Detroit.



Transit Facilities

Top 25 Transit Facility Construction Firms for 2023

The Walsh Group, Clark Group, Hensel Phelps, Skanska USA, and Hill International top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest transit facility general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes construction revenue for work related to bus terminals, rail terminals, and transit stations.


Transit Facilities

Top 40 Transit Facility Engineering Firms for 2023

AECOM, Jacobs, EXP, WSP, and Arup head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest transit facility engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes design revenue for work related to bus terminals, rail terminals, and transit stations.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021