Think Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah monorail, but with a distinctly Riyadh twist.
If you’ve ever crawled through the capital’s rush hour, you’ll know why smarter mobility matters. The Riyadh Metro has already transformed city-wide travel, and now KAFD (King Abdullah Financial District) is taking things a step further with its own driverless monorail.
Saudi Gazette reports that the proposed KAFD monorail would include six stations, linking the entire district in around 11 minutes. Purpose-built to move people quickly and comfortably, Saudi Arabia’s first driverless monorail will operate exclusively in KAFD. Six trains with two carriages each will circulate on a 3.6-kilometre loop, linking key touchpoints across the neighbourhood so you can hop between offices, restaurants and landmarks without hailing a taxi. With a planned capacity of 3,500 passengers per hour, the system is designed to ease congestion at street level and keep pace with the district’s growing footfall.
Technology is central to the experience. The monorail’s fully automated, driverless operation underscores KAFD’s future-forward approach, pairing sleek design with short waits, smooth rides and intuitive wayfinding.
The KAFD monorail supports the district’s 10-minute city strategy, ensuring that daily essentials, dining, and workplaces are within easy walking distance or a quick ride. A network of suspended pedestrian bridges will connect the monorail to the rest of the district, including the metro, creating seamless transfers.
Faddy Al Aql, Chief of Project Delivery at KAFD, said, “The design process for the vehicles and structural bridges for the monorail has already begun.”
The design phase is in its final stages, with construction due to begin before the end of the year. Trial runs are scheduled for early 2027, with an official launch slated for later that same year. By then, KAFD plans to unveil additional dining and entertainment options, making the district an even stronger draw for residents and visitors.
Where the Riyadh Metro connects the city at large, the KAFD monorail focuses on one neighbourhood, turning a dense cluster of skyscrapers, including the PIF building, into an effortlessly navigable urban core.
GO: Visit www.kafd.sa for more information.