MEMO

UNIVERSITY OF JEDDAH FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

TO: DR. MOHAMMED AL-MARSHOUD

FROM: EN 3 GROUP 3

SUBJECT: THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION IN SAUDIA ARABIA

DATE: 12TH OF DECEMBER 2020

Dear doctor,

with due respect, we, the student of (EN 3 GROUP 3), are submitting

herewith our report as partial fulfillment of the (Communication Skills)

course requirement.

The purpose of working on this subject in this report is to study

transportation problems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with clarifying the

solutions to confront these problems, with the adoption of the Vision 2030.

Sincerely,
 niversity of Jeddah
Faculty of Engineering
12th of December 2020

Team Members:
Malik Naji Ali
Abdullah Mosa Al-shaikh
Yahia Mohammed Omir
Bander Mohaammed Al-barakati
Ahmed Noura
Ali Khalid Al-zahrani
Supervised by:
Dr. Mohammed Al-marshoud

ABSTRAC

Public transportation problems in Saudi Arabia are one of the important pillars

that have been put forward and try to find solutions in the Vision of 2030. These

problems are faced by the individual and society of Saudi Arabia, such as the absence of

public transportation lines in nearly every city. This research aims to try to find the most

important problems that are encountered in the field of public transportation, by finding

the best and appropriate solutions that were proposed within the Vision 2030.

Keywords: Vision of 2030, Future transportation, Public transportation, problems,

Railways, Aviation, Subway, Hyperloop

The transportation sector is considered one of the keys to sustainable

development and a vital economic nerve, whose success depends on the

availability of infrastructure for roads and multimodal transportation.

Therefore, the Kingdom's national transport plan has become consistent and

harmonious with the development strategy supervised by the Ministry of

Economy and Planning, as it aims to develop the transport sector and

harness all it is capable of to achieve its requirements. The contribution of

the transport sector is concentrated on removing physical, legal, and

administrative obstacles to stimulate economic growth in the relevant

sectors.1

Transportation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia faces many problems.

It was not known about public transportation in Saudi Arabia until the past

few years, such as buses, trains, and other methods of public transport. The

majority of people in Saudi Arabia use private transportation or modern

transportation applications, which generates a large consumption of personal

income.2 Another problem is that the area has experienced population

growth of about 3.5% per year in The Eastern Province and rapid

urbanization over the past few decades. With this increase in population has

come a significant escalation in automobile traffic, which, in turn, has

area were listed on the World Health Organization's 2016 top 15 cities with

the worst air pollution. Therefore, the multiplicity of private vehicles per

person and family, which has led to a huge increase in traffic, and the

generation of huge amounts of environmental pollution. Also, the Kingdom

of Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that consume the most oil and fuel in

the world. But in Vision 2030, the Kingdom focused on this point and

invested in it, so that the Kingdom will provide many methods of public

transportation, at the same time try to educate the individual and society

about these problems, by using public transportation instead of private

transportation.3

2. Research Method

This research is based on two main parts, the first is to identify and

present some of the problems that Saudi Arabia faces within the framework

of transportation, and the second is to clarify the most important solutions to

these problems that were developed in the study of Vision 2030, in each of

the following sectors, (as shown in Figure 1).

2
 Study Method

1. Identify The
2. Clarify The Solutions
Problems

Railways Aviation Subway Hyperloop

Figure 1 Research Method

3. Railways

3.1. The Problem

The excessive population growth and the expansion of development

and economic projects have led to an urgent need to enhance the transport

sector by finding safe and environmentally friendly solutions and

alternatives that are efficient and reliable in terms of their carrying capacity

and their ability to meet current and future needs. Railways were among the

most prominent and successful solutions to develop transportation on a large

scale in various parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as to reduce

environmental pollution and reduce congestion in the streets with cars and

3
reduce fuel consumption through the construction of trains and railways. All

over the country to achieve the Kingdom's 2030 vision.

3.2. The Solutions

Just a few years ago, the railroad map in Saudi Arabia was very simple for a

country with an area of more than two million square kilometers, and the

kingdom has established several projects to develop the railway network.

The start was with a 564 km shipping line from King Abdulaziz Port in

Dammam to Riyadh, then a 449 km passenger line was established, running

through Albqaiq. The biggest development in recent years was the

construction of the Nordic Train, operated by the "SAR Company", with a

length of 2750 km and a cost of 10 billion riyals.4

The Northern Train Project of the Saudi Railways Company “SAR” is

considered the largest project to establish railways in the world today, The

train has contributed to ending the suffering of thousands of citizens,

especially in the northern Saudi cities in Hail, Al-Jawf, and Qurayyat, by

providing a modern and fast means of transport connecting them with

Riyadh.5

4
 In the west, the Haramain express train was operated to transport

pilgrims and passengers in 2018, at a cost of 63 billion. The Haramain Train

Project represents the important elements in the executive program to

expand the railway network in the Kingdom, The Haramain Train project is

in line with Vision 2030 by enhancing the tourism movement in the region

and accommodating the largest possible number of pilgrims and Umrah

performers throughout the year. This train passes through four major cities

in the Western Region through five stations on a 450-kilometer stretch, and

connects Madinah with Makkah in just two hours, and passes through

Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City. This project is designed to

accommodate and transport more than 1.2 billion passengers during the first

12 years of operation at a rate of 200 thousand passengers per day. As for

the days of Hajj, the project accommodates more than 3 million pilgrims in

one direction and 6 million travelers in both directions.6

This is the current map (as shown in Figure 2), but it will be

completely different in a few years, with the addition of 2,000 kilometers of

railways in the future, one of the most important of these future projects is

the land bridge project, which will connect the east of the Kingdom with its

west, with a length of 1150 km. The importance of this line does not stop at

the transportation of passengers, but rather to the transport of goods through

5
cities and the ports of the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea, Its cost is expected

to range between 50 and 60 billion riyals, In the longer term, the strategic

plan of the Ministry of Transport within Vision 2030 includes more

ambitious projects, bringing the total length of the railways to 9,200 km.4

Figure 2 Railway new lines.

6
 4. Aviation

4.1. The Problem

Failure to take advantage of domestic aviation in the Kingdom to raise

production is the main problem. It may be the largest warehouse for air

cargo companies in the world in one of the Kingdom's airports. Due to the

large number of goods transported between continents, and the location of

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considered an economic income comparable

to the oil income because it is located in the center of the world, and that is

why my country has set a vision 2030 to increase domestic income. Non-oil

income, including aviation income.8

4.2. The Solutions

Therefore, the General Authority of Civil Aviation has launched goals

targeting various sectors and sectors in the fields of civil aviation and

logistics, as part of the National Industries Development and Logistics

Program, which is one of the Kingdom's 2030 vision plans, to promote and

develop patriotism. Industries in the field of air transport, achieving a safe

environment in accordance with the most accurate international safety

standards and building a global airport system with advanced modern

7
services to serve the target groups of travelers and pilgrims. It has also set up

projects to expand many domestic airports, such as Abha Airport and Hafar

Al-Batin Airport, and at the same time, it has opened new international

airports such as the new Jeddah airport.9

Figure 3 Civil Aviation signs the Hafar Al-Batin airport expansion project.

Figure 4 Jeddah new Airport.

8
The Objectives are :

1- Drafting the civil aviation system to comply with the next phase

and the Kingdom's vision 2030.

2- Activating the aviation sector in the Kingdom to be the most

important sector contributing to raising the gross domestic

product.

3- Ensure that the airports are developed according to a unified

design model for airports with limited mobility to achieve the

principle of "environmentally friendly".

4- Distribution of air traffic in the model of hub airports, and the

development of infrastructure to keep pace with the volume of

air traffic.

5- Establishing airports with international standards that provide

the basic operational requirements that operate on reliable

commercial bases to develop non-navigational revenues and

contribute to raising the operational capacity of airports.

6- Achieving the highest levels of safety at the global level.

7- Improving the performance of Saudi airspace and making it the

preferred climate for airlines.

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 8- Creating a fair competitive environment among all national

airlines.

9- Qualifying Saudi cadres through local and international

partnerships with the most important universities, colleges, and

specialized institutes.

10- Preserving the Authority’s gains and preserving the Kingdom’s

membership in the Executive Council of the International Civil

Aviation Organization.7

5. Subway

5.1. The Problem

First of all The capital, Riyadh, is witnessing an increase in population

as its population reached in the census for the year 2011 (4.9)Millions As we

witness an annual increase in births and from citizens outside the city of

Riyadh in order to study, to work or to visit, as well as from residents for

work or to visit, as it is not hidden from the viewer that the city of Riyadh in

private and all regions of the Kingdom, in general, doesn’t have modern

double road network, Traffic jams where the congestion is no longer only

during the period of staff and students going and returning to work and the

10
university only, but these bottlenecks all the time and permanently so it

requires a decisive solution to these problems. 10

5.2. The Solutions

By developing public transport the means of the subway where it has

several stations and at the level of the city of Riyadh from north To the south

and from east to west, this project has been completed, as it will not cost the

state a single penny, as this project is put forward in its bid for investment,

and an old and famous company in this field takes it as an investment for ten

years or more and then becomes the property of the state. 10

Figure 5 Subway lines in Riyadh.

11
And the benefits of the subway will be:

 Saving time and reaching the citizen and resident in record

time, for example, when he rides from a station in the south of

Riyadh to its north or west to east, the arrival time is five

minutes, meaning if he goes on this journey by car or taxi, the

period ranges from an hour and a quarter to an hour

 Provide job opportunities for citizens in this project, and the

company implementing the project is required to train and

employ them

 After the success of the experiment in Riyadh, this project will

be implemented in Jeddah and Dammam in order to eliminate

traffic jams

 After the ownership of the metro, project is transferred from the

company to the state, the project will constitute a large amount

of income that will return to the state, as part of it will be spent

on developing the metro in the future.

 Such a project will contribute to attracting foreign investments

 It will greatly reduce accidents and pressure on internal and

circular roads, and thus reduce their maintenance, which saves

large sums for the state

the use of cars will decrease because of the majority of citizens

and residents. 11

After the subway, Future thinking beyond the is an urgent necessity,

in order to reduce waste and avoid any possible default, and it is also

important to encourage students to specialize in the field of transportation

and urban policies during the next ten years. Everyone will realize the

importance of future thinking regarding the transportation side. 12

Studies and figures indicate that it will contribute to reducing nearly a

quarter of a million car trips per day, resulting in saving more than 400,000

liters of fuel, which emits harmful gases after combustion. In addition to the

metro, it works using electric energy, reducing emissions from conventional

trains.

6. Hyperloop

In 2013, Elon Musk had an idea. He would propel passengers in a pod

through an evacuated tube at nearly the speed of sound, hurtling them from

Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes. It's a lot quicker than the 2

hours and 40 minutes of the rival technology, a proposed high-speed train.13

13
 LOS ANGELES: American transportation technology company

Virgin Hyperloop is gearing up to bring the “future of transit” to Saudi

Arabia via a partnership agreement with the Kingdom’s Ministry of

Transport.14

Figure 6 The Hyperloop Agreement.

Under the initiative, Riyadh would become a transportation hub

connecting cities such as Jeddah, and the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, with

Virgin Hyperloop pods capable of carrying groups of 25 passengers

comfortably at speeds of 1,000 km per hour.

Describing the technology, Josh Giegel, co-founder and chief

technology officer of the Los Angeles-based firm, told Arab News: “Going

14
from A to B, direct to the destination at the speeds of an aircraft, but inside a

tube.

So, small vehicles direct to their destination using electromagnetic

propulsion and magnetic levitation.

Being able to have breakfast in Riyadh, go to prayer in Makkah, come

back all in time for lunch, do everything that you need to do gives you a new

type of way of being a logistics hub for the actual entire GCC region, he

said.

The system would also allow for safer social distancing, thanks to the

small group sizes, lack of frequent stops, and adaptive artificial intelligence,

which would allow for additional pods to be added, as necessary.

You’re automating the fleet. That allows you, if you only need a 50

percent capacity in a single pod, to do that without having to tape off seats

and other things like that.

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 7. CONCLUSION

We are in a place that is more different than any other place. We have

responsibilities more than any other country in the world. The people from

around the world come to Saudi Arabia for tourism, for business, to

immigrate and plus all of that the people come from all around the world to

perform their religious duties and that is (Hajj and Umrah). That makes us a

different and a jamming place from all over the world, so we must develop

our transportations and evolve to the vision of 2030.

The vision of 2030 of Saudi Arabia also requires extending their big

projects to further places away from the cities, so that requires fast

transportations to be presented their in a short time. Most of the countries

from all around the world which is crowded and have huge lands like India,

China, Indonesia, Egypt …. All of them have something in common and that

is public transportations. Most of the people there do not own cars, they only

use public transportations.

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 To evolve we must develop our public transportations and to be

prepared to receive foreign people. That evolves requires that we build

Metro stations, busses stations, ships, and there is a whole list.

Therefore we start the list with the most important way of

transportation and that is Subways; Subways are usually used in capital

cities to prevent traffic on the streets and to save time to reach places during

a short time.

Second, Railways is a basic transportation way that we used to use

back in the old times, we usually depend on Railways when we travel from a

city to another or to countries that are not so for, so in the future, the

government is developing this way to be more advance.

Then we talked about Aviation and how this way is useful and we

depend on to travel to far places in hours and how we want to develop

Airports for tourists and Hujjaj.

Last but not least the most evolving way for transportation: The

Hyperloops. Hyperloops is an advanced way to carry passengers, you can

say that we use it like Railways for short distances between cities and

countries near, but this way does not depend on a driver or a captain to drive

it and it depends on artificial intelligence.

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 REFERENCES

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Available at:

https://www.mot.gov.sa/ar/AboutUs/FutureOfTransportation/Pages/de

fault.aspx.

2. Naif Al-Harbi “Vision 2030: Transportation,” 2017.

3. Peterson, H. P., and Kassim, Z. A. “A CASE STUDY ON

PERCEPTIONS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN THE

EASTERN PROVINCE OF SAUDI ARABIA.,” Transport Problems,

V. 15, No. 2, 2020, pp. 5–16.

4. Maya Gridini. “Railway projects.” Alarabia. Available at:

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‫بالسعودية‬-‫المنتظرة‬-‫الحديدية‬-‫السكك‬-‫شبكة‬-‫مشاريع‬. Accessed December 10, 2020.

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Available at:

https://www.aleqt.com/2016/06/05/article_1060113.html. Accessed

December 10, 2020.

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http://spextesproapp01:2019/ar/TransportSystem/AirTransport/Pages/

default.aspx. Accessed December 10, 2020.

8. Hammed. “Civil aviation Industry and vision 2030,” AJEL, 2019.

9. “Civil Aviation launches initiatives aimed at promoting and

developing national industries in the field of air transport,” 2019.

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Newspaper, 2020.

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https://www.bayut.sa/blog/%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%81-

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 %D8%A7%D9%83%D8%AB%D8%B1-

%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%85%D8%AA

%D8%B1%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A

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