Riyadh Train…the path of change for a societal culture!
Muhammad bin Issa Al-Kanaan
On Sunday, the first of December 2024 AD (29 Jumada al-Awwal 1446 AH), our dear capital witnessed the launch of the first cars of the Riyadh train (Riyadh Metro), which was kindly inaugurated by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the evening of Wednesday, November 27, 2024 AD, and with the interest and follow-up of His Highness. Royal Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince, Prime Minister – may God protect them -; This major event constituted a qualitative shift in public transportation in the city of Riyadh and the Kingdom in general. The Riyadh Train – which is the latest global train project and whose implementation is supervised by the Royal Commission for the City of Riyadh – is a pivotal part of the King Abdulaziz Public Transport Project, and the train (metro) is based on an automatic operation system (automatic – without a driver), and consists of up to 338 cars. A vehicle that operates on six main tracks (axes), in different colors, covering the urban geographic area of the city of Riyadh. The tracks are: (yellow – blue – red – orange – green – purple), With a total length of 176 kilometers, 85 stations are distributed along all its routes, equipped with solar cells that contribute to generating 20% of its electrical needs. It is also equipped with Wi-Fi service that covers even underground stations and lines, and some of them range in depth from ( 20 – 35 metres). There are also four main stations at the intersection of the train tracks, in addition to five transfer stations between the tracks, thus forming an integrated transportation network managed by five control centers, and integrated with the bus network, forming the public transportation system for the city of Riyadh. The capacity of the train (metro) with the start of operation is one million and 200 thousand passengers, and it is expected to increase to three million and 600 thousand passengers during the next ten years.
There is no doubt that this tremendous project will contribute directly – God willing – to finding effective solutions for the movement of residents of the city of Riyadh, or those coming to it. The train routes cover densely populated areas, government facilities, health, educational, and commercial activities, and entertainment areas, as well as high-traffic streets and squares. That is why the first indicators of the launch of the metro were positive, and people’s demand for it exceeded expectations, even though the beginning was only for three tracks: (yellow, purple, and blue). The rest of the routes will operate sequentially – God willing – according to the sequential operating plan (the two routes: red and green on Sunday, December 15 – Jumada al-Akhira 14), while the orange route will start on (Sunday, January 5, 2025 AD, Rajab 5, 1446 AH). Hence, we say to everyone who judges with a negative outlook, or has a pessimistic mentality, or claims that the demand is just a passing wave due to social media celebrities, or because of those who love photography and documenting the first moment, we say be optimistic and trust in what has been achieved, as it is normal for these people to attend, but rather we would be surprised if they did not attend. But they certainly do not constitute the vast majority of those who rode the train for the actual experience, upon which they will base their movement planning in the coming days, whether for work, study, shopping, or wandering here or there. there. This explains the demand of university students and travelers on the train (metro) on its first day.
So it is a matter of time, and God willing, it will not be long until people accept and have a higher level of awareness of the importance of traveling by train, especially since many of them have traveled and seen the impact of public transport trains on the daily life of the countries they have visited or lived in. Not to mention that our society has relied for many decades on one means of transportation, which is the car, and it has even taken root as a daily practice. His life became linked to the car until it became an established culture, and this culture must change and needs time, but the targeted change will be achieved – by God’s will – and faster – when we use the train, and directly touch the high-end service it provides, ease of use, speed of access, and saving time. , low cost, and peace of mind away from the car, and perhaps the people who appeared in the media and communication platforms and talked about the big difference they found on the train compared to the car during their commute from work or university to their homes or vice versa confirms that the train will be the path of change for a societal culture. The importance of public transportation. It remains to be noted that one of the agencies took the initiative to provide frequent buses for its employees from the workplace to the nearby train station, and this is undoubtedly a pioneering step and a model to be emulated. I also cannot fail to point out that the students and employees of King Saud University are looking forward to frequent buses that take them from train station No. (11) on the red track on King Abdullah Road – after the track is operational – to the university and vice versa, because the station is not inside the university or at its main gates.
