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Neom received the post-tender clarification bids from contractors on 4 April for the relocated Connector Depot of the rail line that links Oxagon Industrial City to the Spine.

The facility will have two separate depots, one for the high-speed rail rolling stock and one for the freight and infrastructure rolling stock maintenance. 

The infrastructure depot will provide facilities for storing and distributing materials required for the railway infrastructure at Neom.

The Spine is the infrastructure corridor running parallel to The Line that includes a high-speed rail and the Connector South, which links the industrial zone, Oxagon, to The Line.

US-based Aecom is the design consultant, and Bechtel is the project management consultant for The Spine railway network project.

Construction work on the railway network at Neom has already started. 

In early May 2023, a joint venture of Italy-based Webuild and Riyadh-headquartered Shibh Al Jazira Contracting (Sajco) secured a $1.5bn contract to build the Connector South line.

The contract involves the construction of a 75-kilometre railway line, including earthworks, 14 viaducts, seven roads, nine rail underpasses, 152 pipe and box culverts, a freight line, infrastructure maintenance depots and associated facilities.

Neom was also expected to receive bids by the end of March for the contract to provide rolling stock for the high-speed and freight railways running alongside The Line and connecting to the Oxagon.

The infrastructure corridor will run south from The Line to Neom City Station through Neom Bay Mansions, Neom Bay airport and on to Oxagon.

MEED reported in May last year that Neom is prioritising railway construction work as it reduces the scope of work for upcoming construction contracts on the infrastructure corridor alongside The Line.