The Bahrain metro network has been in the pipeline for more than a decade now, but anyone hoping for a quick route from the airport will have to wait until at least 2023.
As part of the Bahrain Public Transport Master Plan 2030, the project will see 109km of light railway lines laid across the Kingdom.
Construction was scheduled to begin in 2009, but the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications started to accept bids from construction firms earlier this year.
The first phase of the BD754 million project, set to be completed in four years, will consist of two lines – red and blue – covering 29km and consisting of 20 stations.
The red line will run between the airport and the Bahrain Causeway, while the blue line will go from Jufair to Budaiya, making transport across the Kingdom easier.
No details have been released about when the other four lines – brown, green, orange and pink – will open, but there are expected to be another three or four phases in construction. These lines will cover areas including Seef, Isa Town, and South Manama.
After construction is completed, the metro system is expected to carry 43,000 passengers an hour.
Plenty of other public transport improvements are in the works or have already been completed as part of Bahrain’s 2030 plan, including longer bus routes and better bus shelters.
Bahrain is also part of the Gulf Railway system, which will connect the country to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman by 2023.
