Riyadh Metro: at the heart of an urban and sustainable revolution

10 February 2026Photos and text: Jean-Yves Bardin20 images

Métro de Riyadh : au cœur d’une révolution urbaine et durable

01 / 20 · 10 February 2026Jean-Yves Bardin / Collectif DR

Opened in December 2024, the Riyadh Metro is the symbol of a metropolis seeking to move beyond its dependence on the car, reduce pollution and give lasting structure to its urban development. At 176 km, the world’s longest driverless transit system is reshaping the social, economic and architectural landscape of the capital of Saudi Arabia.

This mode of transport has changed the lives of Riyadh’s residents. Its success was immediate in the land of cars and oil, which until then had no public transport at all. Travel times have been considerably reduced, transforming the daily lives of millions of residents.

It also fosters unprecedented social mixing by making travel accessible to all, without distinction. By bringing together families, workers, students and expatriates in the same trains, it contributes to a new diversity and the gradual erasure of social divisions in public space.

Estimated at $23 billion, this project is one of the most expensive and ambitious in the world in the urban transport sector.

Story available to the press, on commission or through the photo library.Request a license