Metro and light rail projects are expanding rapidly in Saudi Arabia to address congestion challenges in major cities. Key rail projects currently under construction or planned include systems in Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah, and Makkah. Integrated project management and public education are needed to minimize disruption during construction in congested areas. Rail systems will require changes to existing transportation networks and urban planning to maximize economic and development benefits by improving accessibility and attracting business activity near stations. The expansion of rail presents both opportunities and challenges for existing transportation providers to adapt their roles and integrate services.

1. Metro & Light Rail Projects in
Saudi Arabia
Challenges and Solutions
Paul Wren,
Strategic Business Development
Director,
SAPTCO
5th May 2014

2. 2
Key Rail Projects in Saudi
Arabia
•East – Central Line
•Mashaaer Train
•Princess Nora University
Monorail
•King Abdullah Financial District
Monorail
Existing
•Riyadh Metro
•Haramain High Speed Rail
•North – South Railway
extensions
Under construction
•Jeddah Metro
•Madinah Metro
•East – West Railway (Land
Bridge)
•Makkah Metro
Future planned projects
• GCC Railway
International projects

3. 3
Urban Rail Challenges and
Solutions
●
Construction in very congested cities:
A. Integrated project management to ensure information is
clear, diversions are clear and other modes of transport
are sequenced to manage the disruption
B. Education and promotion to ensure population and
decision makers understand the long-term “gain" v. short-
term “pain”
●
Cities with no history of metro and urban rail
transportation:
A. Marketing and communication - cities will work differently
with a metro or urban rail system
B. Metro and urban rail will cause a reduction in congestion
initially - but will act as a catalyst for economic growth
C. Whole new approaches to metropolitan living with
cultural, accessibility and development impacts

4. 4
Urban Rail Challenges and
Solutions
●
Integration of bus and urban rail:
A. Urban bus networks change their role, from primary
public transport to feeder and secondary route roles
B. Urban bus will benefit from urban rail and metro - greater
awareness of public transportation generally
●
How cities work with efficient urban transportation:
A. Accessibility to / from and within the city dramatically
improves
B. Customer-focused businesses, future malls and future
residential areas will gravitate towards metro stations and
transport hubs
C. Transport related development in and around metro and
urban rail stations - becoming origins and destinations in

5. 5
Urban Rail Challenges and
Solutions
●
Key challenges for the GCC:
A. Access to/from metro stations and between transport
modes
B. Pedestrian access can be limited, and the climate
prevents pedestrian access during parts of the year
C. Changing citizen’s behaviour - a greater proportion of the
population in Saudi Arabia has no experience of urban
rapid transport
D. Getting the right mix of transport in cities - how many
buses, how many metro routes
E. How to deliver all of the transport – bidders / operators
and consultants have finite resources available
F. Ultimately, how to jump 150 years of transport design
and history in a single leap - the biggest challenge of all

6. 6
Inter-Urban rail challenges
and solutions
●
SAPTCO’s role will expand with the development of
urban rail routes:
A. Feeder bus routes to/from urban and inter-urban stations
B. Through bus-rail ticketing
C. Integrated public transport information
●
Creation of regional transportation hubs around rail
stations
●
Changes to the overall mix of options (air / rail /
coach / car):
A. Will need very good multimodal information to allow
passengers to make rational choices

7. 7
Concluding thoughts
●
Clarity of purpose of infrastructure - cargo or passenger -
Economic returns, strategic choices
●
Enabling potential passenger or cargo customers - what are
the expected benefits for users and how can they be
explained?
●
How can rail make a difference within GCC countries and
between GCC countries? Economic and geographic mobility
changes
●
How can existing transport providers adapt their business

8. Thank You
SAPTCO
P.O.Box:10667
Riyadh:11443
T. +966 11 288 44 00
F. +966 11 288 44 11
Saudi Arabia
www.saptco.com.sa