Riyadh Metro to officially open on Nov. 27

The official launch of the Riyadh Metro is set for Nov. 27. The initial opening will be partial, covering three routes in the first phase, while the remaining three routes will open in mid-December, Al Eqtisadiah newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources close to the matter.

The three routes opening on Nov. 27 will operate at full capacity. These include the lines from Al-Orouba to Al-Batha, the King Khalid Airport Road line, and the intersection axis of Abdulrahman bin Auf and Sheikh Hassan bin Hussein.

Ticket prices and discounted packages for metro passengers are expected to be announced in the coming days. The responsible authorities have urged the Riyadh Metro operator to offer competitive ticket prices to attract the maximum number of passengers and reduce traffic congestion in the capital by an estimated 20% to 30%.

According to Argaam data, Riyadh Metro spans 176 kilometers and includes 85 stations. The metro project integrates with the Riyadh Bus Network, which features 24 routes totaling 1,083 kilometers and includes 776 stations.

The contracts for the Riyadh Metro project were awarded in 2013 to three global consortia at a total value of approximately $22.5 billion (about SAR 84.4 billion).