Imagine you’re being asked to renovate a concert hall—not while it sits empty, but on opening night, with minimal disruption, as the orchestra plays to a packed house. No matter what, the show must go on. This might sound impossible, yet it’s a fitting analogy for the carefully choreographed engineering and construction of Riyadh’s new metro system, which was inaugurated today ahead of its public opening.
Most metro systems grow gradually: one line at a time. Not Riyadh. It’s the largest metro project in the world to be built in a single phase—and the first to conceive, design, and construct six fully integrated lines simultaneously. All of this unfolded in Riyadh’s dense urban core, which had to remain open to traffic and fully functional for its millions of residents.
Not only does Riyadh's transformation showcase a bold vision, it sets a new benchmark for urban mobility and redefining what’s possible in the face of rapid urbanization.
A Collective Drive
In 2016, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched Vision 2030, a forward-looking strategy to modernize the nation’s economy, which included major investments in creating a more efficient mobility network. With Riyadh’s population projected to grow from 7.8 million to 8.5 million by 2030, the metro system became a cornerstone of the strategy. Not only would it help improve the flow of people—but it would be the key to unleashing the city’s productivity and economic potential.
The project pushed the boundaries of what’s possible. Since breaking ground in 2014, the Riyadh Metro has been the world’s largest rail project under construction over the past decade or so—not to mention one of the largest in Bechtel’s history. The job site spanned 800 square kilometers, an area bigger than New York City.
Led by The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), Bechtel and our consortium partners designed and built Lines 1 and 2 of the project, (Line 1 will be featured in the first stage opening to the public) including 40 stations, three depots, and four park-and-rides. Our scope included structural, architectural, MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) and transit system design together with construction, testing and commissioning. It also included the procurement of all products and materials, the design and integration of the transit systems, and the civil infrastructure.
At peak construction, we had 28,000 craft professionals on site, and we were transporting massive quantities of materials throughout residential and commercial areas in the city each day. The construction itself required enough earthworks to build the Great Pyramid of Giza more than seven times over; steel reinforcements weighing as much as 40 Eiffel Towers; and electrical components capable of spanning the Earth's diameter—with plenty to spare.
Engineers in Bechtel design centers worldwide—including Taiwan, Dubai, and New Delhi—were part of a broader design team that produced over 98,000 design drawings and 100 mock-ups. The system’s doors alone required more than 10,000 unique designs, complete with customized signage and specifications. Operators received more than 120,000 as-built drawings and documentation from tens of thousands of lab tests, verifying compliance with nearly 700 material criteria.
Bechtel embraced this mission as the next chapter in our 80-year legacy in Saudi Arabia. What made this project successful, more so than a single deliverable or innovation—though there were plenty of those—was the collaborative culture among our partners, customer, and colleagues. Excellence in any project demands a unique blend of leadership, organizational skills, mindsets, attitudes, and behaviors. And as projects grow in complexity, mastering this blend becomes even more crucial.
While the Metro is a triumph of engineering, it is also a monument to collaboration and coordination, involving tens of thousands of people from different companies, cultures, and nationalities.
A Next-Generation Design
Prior to the project, Riyadh had never had a metro system before. At the request of our customer, the challenge wasn’t just to build one, but to create a visually striking and modern design that embodied the forward-thinking Vision 2030. It also needed to appeal to the city’s residents, especially the rapidly growing population under 35, and encourage them to embrace this new mode of transportation.
Take the King Abdullah Financial District station, for example. It was essential to reflect the iconic lattice design by the late architect Zaha Hadid in the construction—no matter how challenging—ensuring the station became an instant landmark. Beyond aesthetics, the focus was on delivering a metro that met the needs and expectations of Saudi Arabia’s growing population. This meant constructing Wi-Fi-enabled stations, advanced passenger information systems with real-time updates, powerful air conditioning to combat extreme heat, step-free access for people with limited mobility, and trains with high-comfort seating.
The goal is to increase public transport’s share of journeys in the city from a little over 2% today to 18% by 2030 —reducing the number of car trips by a quarter of a million trips each day. That becomes infinitely easier when you have a modern, efficient, and thoughtfully designed metro that meets the needs of its riders. All of the 190 trains are electric and driverless, making it the first of its kind in the world on this scale, capable of carrying 3.6 million passengers a day at ultimate capacity.
A key priority for Bechtel was aligning the project with the broader ambitions of our customer and the nation. Beyond the metro’s fully electrified system, which will significantly reduce emissions, we implemented several additional sustainability measures.
Our consortium deployed a regenerative braking system that captures and converts the train's kinetic energy into electricity and returns it to the grid. We also embraced a life-cycle design approach to minimize environmental impact by planning, designing, and constructing the metro using materials that were, to the greatest extent possible, local and recyclable.
A New Standard
The Middle East is one of the most urbanized regions in the world. Eighty-five percent of Saudi Arabia’s population lives in cities.
As in many other cities worldwide, this trend will continue to present new mobility demands as urban areas grapple with their growing populations. Creating more integrated and advanced transportation systems will be crucial for cities to thrive and attract the necessary investment for growth.
As Riyadh’s residents begin their journeys on this world-class metro system, they are not just stepping onto trains; they are stepping into a brighter, more connected, and sustainable future. For Bechtel and our partners, it has been an honor to play a role in this transformation—and set the stage for even more exciting decades to come.