UPDATE: Saudi Arabia to build second phase of high-speed railway

23 October 2018
International consortium was awarded $8.2bn contract for the Haramain High-Speed railway in 2011

Saudi Arabia’s Public Transport Authority (PTA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Spanish-led consortium for the development and implementation of the second phase of the Haramain High-Speed Rail linking Mecca and Medina, the kingdom’s two holiest cities.

The agreement was announced and signed on 23 October, the first day of the Future Investment Initiative being held in Riyadh.

Details about the project timeline, scope and type of contract were not disclosed, although the official Saudi Press Agency said the project is valued at $3.6bn.

In 2011, Spanish/local consortium Al-Shoula Group won the $8.2bn contract for the provision of rolling stock, systems, signalling, ticketing and 12-year operation and maintenance for the Haramain high-speed railway, which entered operations earlier this month.

Spanish companies that are part of the Al-Shoula consortium include:

  • Adif / Renfe: 12-year operation and maintenance
  • OHL / Copasa / Imathia: track construction and maintenance
  • Inabensa / Cobra: electrification and electro-mechanical equipment
  • Talgo: rolling stock
  • Dimetronic (recently acquired by Siemens): signalling
  • Indra: ancillary and control systems including intrusion detection and ticketing

The scheme is the Gulf region’s first high-speed rail service with trains capable of running up to 300 kilometres-per-hour (kph).

The railway has five stations including two terminals in Mecca and Medina. The other three stations are located in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), the King Abdulaziz International airport and Jeddah.

Construction of the rail began in 2009, when SRO awarded the civil works contract for the scheme to a consortium led by local firm Al-Rajhi Construction.

Two years later, a second package covering the construction of passenger stations in Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) was awarded to a team of local firms, including Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) and Saudi Oger; while another package for the construction of passenger stations in Mecca and Medina was awarded to a team comprising SBG and Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi.

Trial runs on the 450-kilometre line began in 2017 but the official opening of the service has been delayed.

The 35 trains on the rail line are expected to carry 60 million passengers a year once it enters full operation.

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