Riyadh Metro trial run set for H2 2018, says official

The trial run of Riyadh Metro is expected to be in the second half of 2018, said Ibrahim Al-Sultan, director of projects and planning center at Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA).

“We expect that in H2 2018, people will see trains operating in some routes, which will be a trail run that will take more than a year,” he said in a meeting with Riyadh Governor Prince Faisal bin Bandar and officials.

The project is more than 62 percent completed, Al-Sultan added.

As for the bus projects, ADA will start receiving 900 Mercedes buses by the end of next year, he said.

When complete, the metro will span 176 kilometers and include 85 stations. A bus network will complement the project with 24 routes, running 1,083 kilometers and stopping at 776 stations.

In August 2013, the rail system contract was awarded at SAR 84.4 billion ($22.5 billion) to three international consortiums.