RIYADH – The trial run of a passenger train service between Riyadh and Qurayyat in the northern Al-Jouf province will start in June, according to the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO). The SRO took delivery of the first consignment of trains at Jubail commercial port last week, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting an SRO statement. The Riyadh-Qurayyat Line passes through Majmaa, Qassim, Hail and Al-Jouf governorates. In March 2012, the SRO signed a contract worth more than SR553 million with the Spanish company CAF to design and manufacture six trains to operate between Riyadh and Qurayyat. Four trains will operate during daytime while the remaining two at night. The daytime train, with nine cars, will have a seating capacity for 444 passengers while the night trains with 13 cars will have a capacity for 377 passengers. Both trains will have a speed of 200 km an hour. The infrastructure works of the railway, including completion of tracks, railway stations, and signal and control systems, are nearing completion prior to operation of the first train on the route. The Riyadh-Qurayyat Line, which is part of the north-south railway project, will roughly cost SR20 billion and will depend mainly on freight transportation as a major source of revenue rather than passenger traffic.
