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SRO awards $104.4 million freight line track-doubling contract Transport and Related Services

06 Aug 2014| Posted by Morris | In Transport and Related Services

The Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO), president H E Mohamed Al-Suwaiket, has inked a $US 104.4 million (Riyals 391.5 million) contract with a Saudi contractor for the first phase of track-doubling on the Riyadh - Harad - Dammam freight-only line.

The scope of work involves doubling a 214Km section of the line from Hofuf to Harad, and the project is likely to take two years to be done.

According to SRO, the project will facilitate an increased capacity, lengthen trains and cut the 14-hour travel time for freight trains, by cutting down the occasions when trains have to wait in passing loops.

Last year, SRO carried 535,264 TEUs, the highest number of containers in its history, between King Abdul Aziz port in Dammam and Riyadh dry port. Demand is growing from various Saudi companies such as Arasco, Cement Company, Al Belha, Geerco, and GSFMO. These are companies with broader extension plans which needs further capacity that can be delivered by this project, says, SRO.

The double-track section will be developed for 150km/h running as SRO plans to initiate a passenger service between Hofuf and Harad, and to Al Kharj at a later stage.

For the second phase of the project, tender documents are being completed, to double the section between Riyadh and Al Kharj. The contract will consists reconstruction of bridges, and provision of signaling and telecommunications to facilitate use of the line by both freight and passenger trains.

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