The Royal Commission for the City of Riyadh announced the signing of contracts to purchase and manufacture 94 new trains to enhance the Riyadh train fleet in the first phase, as part of early preparation for future growth in transportation in the capital, and keeping pace with the city’s development and needs during the coming years. This increases the number of trains in the network from 183 to 277 trains, with the new trains being received in batches starting in 2028.
The new trains contribute to raising the rate of increase in the total capacity of the Riyadh train network by 57 percent, by directing additional capacity to the tracks according to the volume of passengers and expected demand. The red route's capacity increased by 142 percent, the yellow route by 116 percent, and the blue route by 57 percent, to remain the highest in terms of capacity and passenger volume, in addition to increases in the orange route by 27 percent and the purple route by 16 percent.
The Riyadh Metro network was designed from the beginning to accommodate larger numbers of trains and gradually expand in capacity as usage grows.
The fleet enhancement comes in light of the continued growth witnessed by the Riyadh Railway network, which has recorded about 275 million ride trips since December 2024, while the average monthly passenger numbers during 2026 increased by about 25 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2025.
It also comes in preparation for the expected growth in transportation traffic with the continued growth of the city of Riyadh and the development of its destinations and projects, and its hosting of a number of major international events, most notably “Expo 2030 Riyadh” and the 2034 World Cup. The German companies Siemens and the French company Alstom are implementing the contracts to enhance the fleet, whose total value exceeds 5 billion dollars, and includes an integrated range of works and services related to the project, which includes the manufacture of trains, systems and equipment, maintenance work, training and other technical requirements. And operational.
The trains are received according to the manufacturing stages, and then subjected to tests and operational trials before entering service gradually according to the readiness of each batch.
This investment comes within the efforts of the Royal Commission for the City of Riyadh to develop the transportation system in the capital in an integrated manner, through developing public transportation, road axes, the road network, and intersections, and raising their efficiency. In order to keep pace with the city’s population and urban growth, and enhance the readiness of its infrastructure for Riyadh’s future needs.
European stocks rose on Tuesday, supported by a decline in oil prices, which strengthened investors' appetite for risk, while technology stocks came under pressure due to fears of intensifying Chinese competition, after reports that Changxin Memory Technologies had made progress in developing memory chips.
The European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.44 percent to 638.44 points by 07:14 GMT, while the British Financial Times 100 index rose by about 1 percent, recording the strongest performance among the major European indices, according to Reuters.
The decline in oil prices came at a time when traders evaluated supply risks, in addition to the possibility of additional quantities of Russian diesel flowing into the markets.
At the sector level, the chemicals sector topped the gains, rising by 2 percent, while the technology sector fell by 1.5 percent, affected by a global wave of selling in the sector’s shares. This came after reports of the progress made by the Chinese company Changxin Memory Technologies raised fears of a shrinking technological gap between China and its well-established competitors in the market.
Analysts at OCBC Bank said in a note that technology stocks led the declines, especially shares of memory chip companies, after the Chinese company announced progress in designing higher-density DRAM chips, in addition to its plans to launch a new server memory product by the end of the year. They added that these developments raised fears of escalating competition for well-established companies in the memory chip industry.
In individual stock movements, the shares of the luxury goods group LVMH rose slightly, despite announcing sales in the third quarter that fell below expectations, as the decline in consumer confidence in China cast a shadow on demand for the group’s “Louis Vuitton” and “Dior” brands.
On the other hand, Nokia shares fell by 4.4 percent, after the Finnish communications equipment company agreed to sell its business unit for communications terminal solutions for enterprise networks to the Aurelius Direct Investment Group.
Later today, investors are awaiting the release of key economic data for September from Germany, the largest economy in Europe.
The Saudi market opened trading on Tuesday with a slight increase, as the main market index “TASI” rose by 0.07 percent to 10,291 points, compared to the previous close at 10,283.96 points.
Saudi Aramco shares rose 0.16 percent to 25.80 riyals, after the company’s CEO, Amin Nasser, said during the World Petroleum Conference in Riyadh yesterday that the company is studying additional paths to export crude oil and is working to expand its storage capacity abroad.
Jarir shares also rose by 4.12 percent to 16.68 riyals, after the company announced that its net profits increased by 15 percent to 374 million riyals during the third quarter of 2026, compared to the same period of the previous year.
“National Steel” shares topped the gains, rising by 7.88 percent to 3.15 riyals, followed by “SASCO” shares by 4.22 percent to 40 riyals, then “Arab Sea” by 3.43 percent to 4.22 riyals, and “Riyadh Cables” by 3.15 percent to 108 riyals.
