RIYADH – The President of Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) Mohamed Khalid Al-Suwaiket has signed a contract for SR122,891,216 with the branch of China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) in Saudi Arabia to renew 78.4 km first phase of the main freight route No (2) between Dammam and Riyadh. The 21- month contract aims to enhance SRO's operational capacity to meet the growing private sector demand for transportation by train. The technical specifications have been taken into account in this project with an axle load of 32,5 tons. Commenting on the signing of this contract, Al Suwaiket said the SRO is keen to increase its share of the freight market emphasizing the advantages of movement by train in terms of safety and security as well as significant benefits to the national economy as rail transport could help reduce accidents on the roads and road maintenance costs while cutting environmental pollution. Al Suwaiket also explained that the SRO is currently working on completing the bidding documents for the second phase of the project of renewing 91 km of the freight line between Dammam and Riyadh, confirming that the SRO is keen to meet the growing demand for rail transport by private sector Companies such as ARASCO, Cement Co, Al Belha Co, GEERCO and GSFMO as well as attracting new partners in the future. Al-Suwaiket added that the contract is part of SRO's efforts made to upgrade and develop the efficiency of the existing railway network as well as the SRO's transport fleet of wagons, locomotives and new regulations to achieve the standards that have been agreed for the transport by train within the GCC. — SG
