(29.07.2013)
Strukton, as a member of the FAST consortium, has been awarded a contract by Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) to provide a complete automatic and driverless metro system to equip three of the six lines to be launched by the city. It includes also an option for 10 years of maintenance services. The total contract value amounts to € 6 billion. Strukton's share represents almost € 1.0 billion.
This project is financed by the Government of Saudi Arabia through the Public Investment Fund. The project is to be executed in 5 years, and will employ over 15,000 people. The driverless metro network in total will be 176 kilometres long and will include 87 stations. It is scheduled to enter commercial service in 2018.
The members of the FAST consortium, besides Strukton, are FCC - Spain (consortium leader), Freyssinett - Saudi Arabia, Alstom - France, Samsung CT - Korea, Setec - France and Typsa - Spain.
Riyadh metro system
The Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) has awarded the FAST consortium one of three contracts to build the Riyadh metro, the longest metro system under development in the world. The contract includes the design and construction of lines 4 (yellow), 5 (green) and 6 (purple), which will have 25 stations. Construction will include 64.6 kilometres of rail, 29.8 kilometres of viaducts, 26.6 kilometres of underground tracks, and 8.2 kilometres of overground track.
The consortium with Strukton will use three tunnel boring machines (TBM) to build tunnels almost 10 metres in diameter for the three lines. These lines will use two-car conductorless trainsets supplied by Alstom. There will be four types of stations: elevated, ground level, underground and intermodal to connect with different lines.
The largest metro project in the world
The six lines comprising the Riyadh metro project will span more than 176 kilometres, making it the largest subway under development in the world at present. Construction will require 600,000 tonnes of steel (80 times the amount used to build the Eiffel Tower), 4.3 million cubic metres of concrete (11 times the amount used for Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper), and will employ over 30,000 people, of which more than half correspond to the consortium with Strukton.
Artist impression Riyadh metro station
This new metro will transform Riyadh, reducing traffic congestion, strengthening and driving the Saudi economy and improving living standards for citizens. Riyadh currently has a population of 5.7 million, which is expected to increase to 8.3 million by 2030. The subway is a solution to daily traffic problems: of 7.4 million daily commutes, only 2% use public transport.
The double railway tracks are using Appitrack. In order to optimize energy consumption, the traction power system will be equipped with HESOP, Alstom's innovative reversible substation solution, which allows the energy recovered during braking to be re-used by the network.
This project is the first reference for Strukton in the Kingdom, where other metro opportunities are coming up. Jos Hegeman, director of Strukton Civiel comments: "Our experienced team has been involved in numerous tunnel projects, civil works and have broad knowledge in the field of rail systems. We are pleased to have been selected by the city of Riyadh to support this major project to make public transport an attractive option."
Riyadh Metro Project door FAST consortium
