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.

The Riyadh Metro project has seven tunnel boring machines (TBMs) working on the tunnelling under the city and today's milestone has been achieved by the second TBM, said a statement from ADA.

A ceremony was held to mark the achievement in the presence of the Governor of Riyadh, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Transport Minister Suleiman Al Hamdan and other senior officials.

Besides announcing the end of tunnel excavation work, a full-size mock-up of the Riyadh Metropolis trains manufactured by Alstom was also held at the event.  

It also marked the kick-off of the construction by Alstom of the track works, an important milestone for the project. 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.

In 2013, Alstom and its consortium Fast were awarded a contract to supply three metro lines totalling a length of 64 km. Alstom is supplying a fully integrated metro system which includes: 69 Metropolis Trains, Urbalis,  its CBTC signalling solution, the energy recovery system Hesop as well as tracks.

The Metropolis trains for the project comprise two 36-m-long cars per set. Each train features three classes: first, family and single class. The trains are driverless and 100 per cent motorised, allowing them to run on gradients of up to a six per cent slope.

The trains will offer passengers a high level of comfort, ergonomic seating, LED (light-emitting diode) lighting, air-conditioning and advanced passenger information systems, said the ADA statement.

The Riyadh metro system will boast 85 stations and six main lines, covering a total of 176 km. The metro will serve most neighbourhoods in the Greater Riyadh area, government offices, schools, businesses and main healthcare facilities.

It will also provide a vital link to King Khalid International Airport, King Abdullah Financial District, the downtown area, major universities and other branches of the public transit system.-TradeArabia News Service