Saudi Arabia signs contracts for Riyadh Metro extension to Diriyah

Saudi Arabia has awarded contracts to extend the Riyadh Metro’s Red Line to reach the Diriyah Gate development in the north of the capital.

The 8.4km extension will connect King Saud University to the Diriyah project and include five stations, the Royal Commission for Riyadh City said in a statement.

The new line will include 7.1km of deep underground tunnels and 1.3km of elevated tracks. Two stations will serve the university, while three will be built in Diriyah. One of the Diriyah stations will connect to the proposed Line 7. 

Work on the extension is expected to finish in six years, the commission said.

The stations in Diriyah Gate will connect tourists to the Al-Turaif district, a Unesco World Heritage Site, the Al-Bajiri district, a cultural and dining hub, and the Opera House.  

The project will reduce the number of cars by 150,000 per day, providing sustainable transport to Diriyah, the statement said.

The project’s cost and the companies awarded the contracts were not disclosed.

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In December, media minister Salman Al Dossary said work on Line 7 would start this year, running from Diriyah Gate to the Qiddiya entertainment project in southwest Riyadh.

The metro has carried around 120 million passengers since its 2025 launch, with an on-time performance rate of 99.8 percent.

Alstom, the French company that provides rolling stock and systems for four of the six operational metro lines, plans to add another 150 carriages to the 320 already in use.