"A decade after breaking ground, Riyadh's gleaming new metro opened in December, offering the capital's eight million residents an alternative to roads chronically clogged by its two million cars.

A quicker commute is not the only difference: for the first time, the wealthy are sharing journeys with the less well off, and Saudi nationals are mixing with the large expat population, from white-collar workers to labourers.

"For 40 years, I was confined to my car or restaurants with my father and brothers, then with my wife and children," Ghamdi, a 42-year-old civil servant working in downtown Riyadh, told AFP.

"I didn't mix or talk to anyone except those I knew or who resembled me.

"Now, things have changed. You feel that society, with all its classes, is in one place."

"A decade after breaking ground, Riyadh's gleaming new metro opened in December, offering the capital's eight million residents an alternative to roads chronically clogged by its two million cars.

A quicker commute is not the only difference: for the first time, the wealthy are sharing journeys with the less well off, and Saudi nationals are mixing with the large expat population, from white-collar workers to labourers.

"For 40 years, I was confined to my car or restaurants with my father and brothers, then with my wife and children," Ghamdi, a 42-year-old civil servant working in downtown Riyadh, told AFP.

"I didn't mix or talk to anyone except those I knew or who resembled me.

"Now, things have changed. You feel that society, with all its classes, is in one place." https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2025/05/new-metro-cuts-through-saudi-social-divisions

Writer, podcaster, and commentator on foreign affairs and politics. Runs /dropglobalnews

It’s still all dudes in that picture. I assume they have separate cars for women and/ir families (like in restaurants)

I legitimately think it's so important for society as a whole to have people of all walks of life mixing.  I've made some great friends and gained a lot of great new perspectives from people I probably wouldn't have gotten to know otherwise.