SAR launches Riyadh-Qassim railway line

ArabNews | Feb 28 2017

RIYADH: The Saudi Railway Co. (SAR) launched on Sunday a 1,250-km railway line to transport passengers during two journeys daily between Riyadh and the Qassim region. The railway line is the first stage of the project. SAR plans to operate the full railway line, but in its first phase it will go through three stations and then extend to six stops, according to local media. Tickets were fixed at promotional prices of SR20 ($5.30) and SR40 ($10.60) for children and adults, respectively. The railway line will eventually link the capital city of Riyadh with Al-Haditha land port at the Saudi-Jordanian border. The line will then be linked with the Riyadh-Dammam railway line, which came into operation in 1951. SAR will operate six railway cars, but will begin with two in the first stage to transport a maximum of 444 passengers in one journey. Rimaih Al-Rimaih, head of public transport and supervisor at SAR, said the new project is the biggest in the Middle East and a key component in transporting citizens and residents between cities and regions of the Kingdom. SAR is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the investment arm of the Ministry of Finance. Meanwhile, the Saudi Railway Polytechnic (SRP) announced recently that 230 Saudi youths are currently undergoing training for employment in the railways sector. Trainees include the 88 young Saudi men who joined 142 others who had been undergoing training at the SRP facility in Buraidah. The training facility is being operated by the Technical and Vocational Training Corp. (TVTC) in partnership with SAR. Abdul Aziz bin Mohammed Sugair, SRP general manager, said trainees will help meet the Kingdom’s labor market needs for young people qualified to work in the local railway sector.