Gulf Construction Online - Riyadh Metro on the fast track

Saudi Focus

Riyadh Metro on the fast track

01 July 2016

ArRiyadh Development Authority (ADA) has announced the successful completion of tunnel excavation works for Line Five (Green Line) of the Riyadh Metro project.

Line Five is one of the three rail lines being constructed by Fast consortium, led by Spanish construction giant FCC. One of three international consortia commissioned to build the Riyadh Metro project’s six lines, Fast comprises Samsung C&T (Korea), Alstom and Setec (France), Strukton (The Netherlands), Freyssinet (Saudi Arabia), Atkins (UK) and Typsa (Spain). The consortium has been commissioned to build the Yellow, Green, and Purple lines – involving 33 km of viaducts, 22 km of underground and 9 km of at-grade track.

The Green Line, which runs underground within a bored tunnel along King Abdulaziz Road – one of the main arteries running through the city of Riyadh – is 13 km long and features 11 deep underground stations, in addition to two transfer stations with the Red and Blue lines.

Besides announcing the end of tunnel excavation work, a full-size mock-up of the Riyadh Metropolis trains manufactured by Alstom was also showcased at the event. It also marked the kick-off of the construction by Alstom of the track works. The works will commence within an at-grade section of the Yellow Line, and will be the first tracks to be installed throughout the Riyadh Metro project.

Work on the Riyadh Metro project is moving at a steady pace with three of its key network lines on track for opening by the end of 2018 or early 2019, said the contractor, adding that about 40 per cent of the work on the new 176.6 km six-line metro has been completed, reported the Arab News.

•Chicago Pneumatic, along with its official Saudi distributor Roots Group Arabia, is playing a vital role in powering the Riyadh Metro project. Eighty robust and versatile stationary generators from the company are currently being used to help construct Lines One and Two of the project being constructed by the BACS consortium, where they are powering a large variety of applications including road and tunnel lighting, site office electrification, electric power tools and water coolers, said Chicago Pneumatic.

Roots Group Arabia managed to gain the buy-in and trust of BACS by demonstrating the excellent durability and performance of Chicago Pneumatic’s stationary generators (CPSG). This, in addition to the comprehensive aftersales support provided by Roots Group, resulted in an order worth $975,000 being placed in June 2015 to acquire a total of 80 CPSG generators.