King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud inaugurated one of the world’s largest rail projects in recent years at the end of November when he officially opened the new Metro system in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. The 176km network comprising six routes is part of a wider Vision 2030 national development strategy championed by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
Transportation has long been vital for urban life and has helped shaped the major cities of today, but the world’s climate crisis means that moving people around has to now be done sustainably, with planners mindful of the impact.
The Royal Commission for Riyadh City opened the first Metro lines for public use on 1 December, with the remaining lines gradually opening by 5 January. The city, which is one of the fastest growing, is already home to nearly eight million people, and like other capitals, it faces traffic congestion due to the high number of cars.
A key goal of the Metro is to reduce emissions and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, but on a more fundamental level, it has been built to help move people around Riyadh and help solve one of the country’s biggest mobility problems.
It was also built with one eye on the major international events that Saudi Arabia is set to host in the coming years, including the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, the 2030 World Expo, the 2034 Asian Games, and the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Long time in the making
Construction of the Metro began in 2013, and when it is complete, it will span an area the size of New York City. It is fully automated and will be able to shuttle more than a million passengers from the new year. Its final capacity will exceed three million.
While Riyadh’s system is state-of-the-art, metro trains have been around for more than 160 years, first revolutionising the world of travel in England in 1863. Its first iterations stretch back much further, to ancient Rome. From humble steam-powered beginnings, metro trains have grown increasingly more sophisticated and fast, the maglev trains in Shanghai now reaching speeds of 400km/hour, for instance.
Riyadh today take its place among world centres with subterranean transport systems, with trains having travelled through subways and tunnels for years, innovators and engineers recognising the below-ground potential to alleviate congestion and air pollution, as space grew precious amid cities’ expansion.
The development of new neighbourhoods around metro stations helped transform urban landscapes, influence architecture and planning, ease traffic congestion, and improve air quality. The trains themselves have also become quieter, cutting noise pollution. Riyadh authorities will be hoping the city benefits, similar to other cities.
The likes of London, New York, Paris, Berlin, and Moscow have all launched their own metro systems, each tailored to their specific needs and circumstances, building in automatic signalling, air conditioning, and advanced control systems as the technology improved, adding to passenger comfort and safety.
Europe’s metro systems
For decades, the London Underground set the global standard for metro systems. The first of its kind, it is today a cultural symbol of transport engineering and design, comprising one of the largest and most iconic metro networks in the world, which, despite its name, is mainly above ground.
The Paris Métro, inaugurated in 1900, is an integral part of the French capital’s cultural fabric. Connecting world-famous landmarks, museums, and art galleries, its historical and aesthetic significance makes it one of the most inspiring metro systems globally.
Berlin’s U-Bahn was the first underground railway in the German-speaking world, opening in 1902. It became a key element of the German capital’s transport network, but its development was significantly impacted by World War II, when Berlin suffered heavy bombing, which damaged both stations, rail lines, and trains.
Despite this, the metro continued to operate and even served as a shelter. After the war, some of Berlin’s metro trains were taken to the Soviet Union as reparations, subsequently operating in Moscow for 20 years. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, the U-Bahn system was reintegrated, and the former East Berlin stations were reopened, making the U-Bahn a symbol of German reunification.
Prize for the best, however, may go to the Copenhagen Metro system, which operates around the clock, seven days a week, with fully automated trains and sleek, modern stations. Its efficient design, smooth integration with the city’s urban landscape, and commitment to passenger comfort have earned it legions of fans.
Peers around the world
The Moscow Metro, which opened in 1935, is also a cultural landmark. Often referred to as an underground city, it is also considered a sprawling museum, with many of its older stations designed in grand styles. The station Mayakovskaya even won the Grand Prix at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York.
During World War II, the metro also served as a refuge from air raids, with up to half a million people taking shelter in its tunnels. Some stations are said to be designed with gas protection systems, and are believed to have been planned as potential nuclear shelters in case of attack.
The Tokyo Metro is arguably the most extensive metro system in the world, its lines stretching vast distances to connect suburban areas to the city centre. The network is renowned for its efficiency, punctuality, and vast coverage, making it a model for urban transportation systems globally.
The Beijing Metro opened its first line in 1971 and has grown to become the world’s busiest such system in terms of daily passenger traffic, transporting up to 13 million people daily on six fully automated lines with driverless trains. Initially only open to government officials, in 1977 it opened to the public. Today, it is one of the most expansive and technologically advanced systems of its kind in the world.
Inspiring artists and writers
Metro and rail travel have long been a source of inspiration in popular culture, the French writer Mathilde du Lachange once remarking that the Paris Metro “will always have a story whispering in your ear”.
The metro and the city are so intricately linked that Kafka said it “provides the foreigner with the best opportunity to imagine that they have understood, quickly and correctly, the essence of Paris”.
Foreign writers who stay in Paris often recall not just the destinations (Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Montmartre etc) but the journey there, the metro becoming integral to their memories. Argentine author Julio Cortázar once said the Paris metro was “as if you were inside an hour—the stations are the minutes”.
In Zazie in the Metro, the novel that made Raymond Queneau famous, the metro never actually appears in the narrative, but its inclusion in the title sparks the reader’s imagination.
Then there is Russian writer Dmitry Glukhovsky’s Metro trilogy, a dystopian series that imagines a post-apocalyptic world following a nuclear strike, where survivors flee to Moscow’s metro stations, new empires form, and political factions fight for survival.
As a teenager, Glukhovsky was fascinated by Moscow’s metro, which was designed not just for transport but as a series of radiation-resistant shelters in case of war. “The fear of nuclear strikes and the constant preparations for nuclear war were a very important part of my childhood,” he later recalled.
More recently, German writer Timur Vermes published U, a novel about two passengers on a subway train that never stops and that never seems to pass any stations. Its single-letter title is a nod to Germany’s metro, the U-Bahn.
Before that, in the early 1950s, Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt published The Tunnel, one of his most famous and surrealist short stories, in which the metro takes on a symbolic role, highlighting the strange and often absurd realities of modern urban life.
As Riyadh’s new transport system gears up to change the city, it is clear from the Saudi capital’s peers around the world that a metro system is not just another way of getting around but a key part of any metropolis, potentially affecting its character and culture. Onboard, the metro trains take on a culture of their own.
Whether it be stand-up poetry readings, musicians boarding carriages to offer impromptu performances to enrich the commute, or just the random striking up of conversation with a fellow traveller, it is little wonder that artists and writers hold the humble metro in such high regard. Perhaps the Riyadh Metro will inspire the next Saudi generation of storytellers.
