What’s it like to live inside Saudi Arabia’s The Line? NEOM chief unveils key features

Riyadh: What would living inside Saudi Arabia’s The Line be like? According to Denis Hickey, chief development officer of NEOM, The Line will “function as a fully integrated, high-density car-free city.” Hickey – who shared a video about The Line at Davos – provided a first-time immersive vision of daily life inside the city. He said residents will experience an urban environment unlike anything built before.

Saudi Gazette reported that the city will operate as a three-dimensional vertical metropolis with modular sections stacked in a linear format.

“Everything you need will be within a five-minute walk,” Hickey explained. “You will step outside your home and immediately have access to schools, restaurants, workspaces, hospitals, and entertainment—without needing a car, ever. This isn’t just about making a city compact. It’s about designing a place that prioritizes human well-being over congestion,” he added.

The city’s 500-meter height will remain consistent across its entire length, creating a canyon-like structure where residents will easily move vertically and horizontally. “This is not a single building — an entire city with its grid system,” Hickey explained.

“Think about Manhattan. You don’t need a car in Manhattan because the subway and avenues make everything accessible. Now imagine taking that concept and evolving it — instead of moving just horizontally, The LINE allows you to move seamlessly upward as well.”

The Line was envisioned as a 170-kilometer-long, 200-meter-wide, and 500-meter-tall linear city. Unveiled in 2021, it aims to redefine urban living by eliminating cars, roads, and carbon emissions, offering a sustainable and AI-powered environment for up to 9 million residents. The Line, however, has experienced adjustments in its development timeline. Recent reports indicate that by 2030, only a 2.4 kilometers section is expected to be completed.

According to the Gazette report, one of The Line’s most groundbreaking features is eliminating cars and replacing traditional road networks with an ultra-efficient six-tier mobility system.

“Urban sprawl is outdated. We are moving beyond the old way of expanding cities by adding more roads. The LINE will be the world’s first major city built without cars. Instead, residents will move using a high-speed underground rail system, general mass transit, and a network of rapid vertical transportation,” he explained.

At the heart of this system is a high-speed rail (HSR) network, allowing residents to travel the entire length of The Line in just 20 minutes. The rail will also connect directly to NEOM International Airport, reducing travel time to only 25 minutes.

Complementing this, general mass transit (GMT) stations will be placed every 1.5 to 2 kilometres, ensuring that residents are always within a short distance of reliable transport. Designed from the ground up, rather than retrofitted onto an existing city, this transit system will eliminate congestion and improve accessibility across the urban environment.

Moving vertically also will be just as seamless. Next-generation rapid vertical transport nodes will replace traditional elevators, said Hickey. These high-speed systems will allow residents to travel both upwards and sideways. “When people hear ‘no cars,’ they ask, ‘How will I get around?’ The answer is simple: faster and more efficient than in any city today. The average commute will be 20 minutes or less anywhere inside The Line,” Hickey explained.