Bombardier Inc's rail division said on Monday it signed a $241 million contract to build, operate, and maintain a monorail system in the capital of Saudi Arabia. The 3.6-kilometer monorail transit system for the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh will include six driverless INNOVIA Monorail 300 trains, for a total of twelve cars, the company said. Bombardier, the world's biggest train maker, was subcontracted by Saudi Oger Limited, which was awarded the contract by the Rayadah Investment Company, the investment vehicle of the Public Pension Agency of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on April 14. Engineering and design of the trains will take place at Bombardier's Kingston, Ontario site, and manufacturing of the cars will happen at its Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania site. Bombardier, along with Saudi Auger, will provide operation and maintenance services for the system for an initial period of 10 years. Saudi Oger, as the contractor responsible for the full turnkey construction of the new Monorail system, was awarded the contract by the Rayadah Investment Company, the investment vehicle of the Public Pension Agency of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on April 14, 2010. Bombardier, as subcontractor to Saudi Oger, will design and supply all of the system-wide Electrical and Mechanical (E&M) elements for the six-station monorail system, including six INNOVIA Monorail 300 trains (12 cars) with Bombardier Cityflo 650 automatic train control technology for driverless operation as well as providing project management, systems engineering and integration, testing and commissioning. Engineering and design for the Monorail vehicles will be centered at Bombardier's site in Kingston, Canada, and manufacturing of the 12 cars will be carried out by Bombardier in Pittsburgh, US. Commenting on the announcement, Andre Navarri, president and COO of Bombardier Transportation, said: “As the global leader in the supply and operation of turnkey transit systems, we are exceptionally proud to secure our first major project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to be associated with the prestigious King Abdullah Financial District. Our next generation INNOVIA Monorail 300 system combines service-proven driverless technology with the latest in wide-bodied, lightweight, aerodynamically styled monorail trains. They provide superior value and performance for demanding and sophisticated users. The long-term nature of our Operation and Maintenance contract further underlines our commitment to building Local Roots in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and with other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.”
