The urban analysis blog re:kuwait researched and then created a map of the Kuwait Metro project. According to the map if I wanted to get to work by subway I would need to take the line 2 train from Amman Street and head north 11 stops to the Great Mosque station. Over there I would have to change to line 1 and head west 2 stops and get off at the Muthana Complex station. Not too bad.
Check out re:kuwait for more. [Link]
29 replies on “Kuwait Metro Map”
Did they something about building it? Or does the government enjoy toying with us?
The project is suppose to finish by 2014, however I expect it to be delayed just like the rest of the projects. I don’t drive being on a wheelchair, I just hope I live long enough to at least use it once.
in the dreeeeeeems to do it 😛
i thinks in 2100 to do it :p
who is the pepole to go withe train , and the walk under the sunshin :p
“Construction should start in 2009 for completion in 2017, Dashti said.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/newIssuesNews/idUSL0455120120080204
now thats the truth!! 😀
we can try and do it and even if it was complete who would use it?
Most people won’t and it’ll end up being a squatters palace.
unless they put a starbucks at each station; in which case it’ll be the cool place where everyone drives to get there.
Anything that makes traffic die is ok with me ;*
راكب قطارك بشتك تحت ابطك نوطك بوالف بجيبك
:p
Traffic will never die as long as second hand cars dating as far back as the mid 70s get sold and traded here. Anyone can buy a car for 300kd.
These stations – who will walk in the scorching heat to them? Why use them?
“Most people won’t and it’ll end up being a squatters palace. ”
Aint that the truth.
Personally I will gladly use them, assuming they can take me from point A to B. Also if Kuwaitis won’t use them, then most likely the expats will and that’s less traffic.
CooL its nice we can feel like we are living in New york 😀
2050
2071
I hope they go ahead with this. Kuwait city should follow all major cities in managing traffic by implementing a metro system.
For those who think traffic is not manageable, there is a simple solution. Make parking prohibitibly expensive (1 KD for 1 hour, 5 KD per day etc.) as is the norm in any city.
I can just see one train trying to overtake the other.Without using the indicator.
not trying to attack anyone but @ hilaliya.. old cars are as much a problem in traffic congestion as the lack of car pooling concept in Kuwait. It seems as though most people in this country own more than the required number of cars. The government should probably start taxing people by the number of cars they own. That would probably be good on the environment and the morning traffic as well !
I dont think the amount of cars is a problem (for now at least). I think the outdated traffic system is the main problem. Smarter traffic lights and updating the planning of some of the main roads and intersections could solve a lot of traffic problems.
Let’s just hope the conductors aren’t female. Zing.
I dont think any amount of planning will help. there are 2 major work centers – Kuwait city and shuwaik. Everyone and their uncles are going in atleast one of these directions. now unless they can increase the number of lanes to 5 or 6 it just wont help.They can plan all they want. What will really help is reduction in the number of cars on the streets. only ways to do that? car pooling / alternative transport systems or mass transport systems.
Why are some lines dotted? Underground?
There is now way the Government is seriously considering this idea… they’ll have to push aside years of underground infrastructure (including water, sewage and electricity) in order to make way for these trains…
If it can be done in dubai i see no reason why they cant in kuwait.
First of all, thank you Mark for the link.
This project is not a pipe dream. There is quite a large possibility that it will get built, especially if Dubai Metro succeeds in lowering traffic and proves profitable.
@BlackBarook : Yes. “In January 2009, the project was delayed for about 18 months since the government of Kuwait is conducting a study of the transportation networks in Kuwait (this country-wide study will be done by the consortium of Atkins, Parsons Brinckerhoff, and Gulf Consult). In 2011, the ITB for the construction contracts is expected to be issued. The completion of the project is expected in 2016 (The original completion date was in 2014).” It was delayed, but it was not scrapped. The original initiative was taken by the Kuwait Overland Transport Union. Their proposal has now been incorporated into the Government transportation master-plan. this is a good development. In my opinion, the viability of this project works only if the government budget surplus is exploding. Right now, this is not the case. In a few years, when the world economy recovers and oil price goes back to the +$100, then it becomes far more feasible to build the metro (because Kuwait will expanding again, and more money to build the Metro).
@ABDULLAH: No one will walk in the sunshine. Most of the stations are in dense urban cores or underground. You won’t be expected to walk from your suburban house to the station. You will drive to a Park and Ride depot, park your car there, get on a train and go to work.
@KTDP: That’ a very unjustified assumption. What’s a ‘squatters place’? Do you mean abandoned or neglected spaces? What would make this so?
@hilaliya: I don’t know what makes you assume that people would walk to these stations. Look at the map. All of the stations around suburban areas are located in large urban nodes that would have multi-story parking and services (restaurants, cafes, etc). The urban stations are in areas where people already walk. People already walk in Hawalli, Salmiya, the Rai area and Shuwaikh. People use cars not because its hot, but because it is the only transportation option for non-pedestrians. Also, buying cheap cars isn’t the reason why we have terrible traffic jams. It’s because petrol is so cheap.
@cajie: You are absolutely right. There are a lot of simple, easily implemented and effective solutions such as stricter parking fines and higher rates when demand is great. Of course, the optimum solution would be a congestion charge similar to the one implemented in London for everything within the fifth ring road.
@Mark: These minor tweaks would help a little, but major traffic reform is required to finally help solve the problem:
-Abolishing the petrol subsidy to encourage efficiency
-Smart congestion charging
-Vastly increased vertical parking density
-Planning more mixed use zones (so you don’t get business districts that are evacuated after work hours, and you don’t get the daily traffic migration)
-Transportation options (Buses, Kuwait Metro, Pedestrian routes, Bicycle lanes)
Many of these initiatives are being implemented by Dubai in preparation for the opening of their Metro, to provide added incentive for its use.
@the cynics: We can’t just complain and dismiss every project that sounds too big or too good to be true. If we all did that, we’ll end up creating a self-fulfilling prophecy for failure. This attitude helps no one and deepens the negative spiral this country finds itself in. Be positive.
-Barrak from https://rekuwait.wordpress.com
@Kuwait: Yes the dotted lines mean that the line is underground. The big problem in Kuwait is that we have a high water table and in the city center there is lots of toxic hydrogen sulfide underground. It’s going to take a monumental effort to tunnel this much earth. Also, because most of the streets in dense areas have very little free space, it will be very difficult to find enough exposed linear space so that the track can transition from above to underground modes.
@Salbader: Yes, the Government is seriously considering this. It will not affect the sewage and electrical infrastructure (mostly) as the underground track goes a lot deeper than that. We are already reinstalling a nationwide fiber-optic system, so why find fault with a nationwide underground train system?
@mocman: Well, Dubai has several advantages to Kuwait with regards to the Metro. Most importantly, they have an exponentially higher growth rate with regards to tourism and expatriate populations. They use the metro more, and there are more of them in Dubai; so the demand for a Metro is greater in Dubai. Also, Dubai as a city is two generations younger than Kuwait. The urban planning was probably designed in a way to fully incorporate an above ground Metro system; which would explain why in Deira (the only underground part in their system) feels so out of place. Kuwait has a lot more problems to solve, and in some ways, it makes less sense to implement the project here than it was in Dubai.
actualy people do use cars becasue its hot and becase the buses suck big time .
personaly i would use the Metro under the following conditions :
1. the only food or drink allowed on the trains is water ( like in Washington DC ) and that the rule is fully enforced . and no chewing gum
2. There are dedicated metro police on the trains and in the stations.
3. That there is ample parking and I wont need to walk more than 100 Meters in non A/C area’s .
3. If i dont smell hair that hasnt been washed in a month except with coconut oil or stank dragon breath or ASS/PIT stench .
We need more people like Barrak who speaks with facts and less people like the very predictable few commenters who speak the typical “in your dreams” or “in 2100”.
I personally got tired of their pessimistic views. Either you know about the subject at hand and give us valuable additional information or shut up.
بالعربي اكرمنا بسكوتك
Thanks Barrak..
They will probably have first class cabins, weekly/monthly/annual payment schemes, each station has bus that circulates the area around area of the station to make it easier to get to station.