IRF Global Road Achievement Awards Laureate
Automated People Mover for Princess Noura University, Riyadh
The Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) has always understood the IRF vision of “Better Roads. Better World” not only as a commitment to a most critical mode of transportation but also as part of an efficient and total transportation system and support services. The objective is always Mobility of People, Commodities and Ideas with safety of users and service providers as a high priority. Here, SBG provides complete mobility by combining an automated people mover with roads and pedestrian facilities within the university, and with outside roads and the future Riyadh metro.
The Automated People Mover represents the first Light Rail Transit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This project is a state-of-the-art complex system made safe and user-friendly. It represents all the good attributes of a perfect mobility system with Safety, Low Life-Cycle Cost, Efficiency, Zero-Carbon footprint, and Driverless operation. It was developed by successfully mobilizing a world-class specialist work force and procuring advanced specialty hardware, software, and services. The inauguration of this project, completed and delivered on time, by the late king Abdullah confirms the importance of this national landmark.
The Fully Automatic Train Control System operations are accomplished by a combination of elements located on the train, along the wayside (Third Rail), in stations and at remote Central Control facilities. These elements interact to form a command and control system with four major operations: Automatic Train Protection (ATP): to prevent collisions and derailments; Automatic Train Operation (ATO): the automatic control of train movement and stopping at stations; Automatic Train Supervision (ATS): Control of the direction of train movement in relation to the train movement schedule / time table; and Communication – the interchange of information among elements of the system and the “intelligent” interaction of several subsystems and equipment. The entire system is controlled by a modern High-Tec Operation Control Centre (OCC) which is located in the Depot Area (Maintenance & Storage Facility).
The Automated People Mover operates on an elevated guide-way / viaduct that separates the movement of its cars from vehicular and pedestrian movement on the University Campus, and provides dedicated and separate service. Since its start of service on 1 September 2012 the APM has travelled 2.7 million kilometers and carried 10.9 million passengers without a single accident, injury, or loss of life.