Saudi Railways Organization

The Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) (Arabic: المؤسسة العامة للخطوط الحديدية) was a state-owned railway company that operated part of Saudi Arabia's rail network, along with the Saudi Railway Company (now Saudi Arabia Railways). The SRO operated a network of railways with a total length of approximately 1,380 kilometers. The network consisted of two main lines. A 449 km passenger line that links Dammam with Riyadh, and a 556 km freight line that connects the King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam with Riyadh.

Saudi Railways Organization

Passenger train on the Dammam-Riyadh Line.
Native name	المؤسسة العامة للخطوط الحديدية
Founded	13 May 1966; 58 years ago (1966-05-13)
Defunct	April 1, 2021 (2021-04-01)
Fate	Merged into the Saudi Railway Company (now Saudi Arabia Railways)
Headquarters	Dammam railway station, Dammam , Saudi Arabia
Area served	Saudi Arabia
Key people	Abdullah Bin Abdulrahman Al-Muqbil (Chairman) Rumaih Mohamed Alrumaih (President)
Revenue	SAR 535 million[1] (2014)
Website	saudirailways.org

There are plans to extend the network to the Red Sea port of Jeddah and, eventually to the borders of Jordan, Yemen, and perhaps all the way to Egypt.^[2]

Approval to merge the Saudi Railways Organization and Saudi Railway Company was announced in February 2021,^[3] the merger took place on 1 April 2021 and the merged entity is known as the Saudi Arabia Railways.^[4]

Rail transport map of Saudi Arabia. SRO operated on the both red lines.

Rolling stock

Spanish manufacturer CAF delivered eight fast diesel locomotives in 2012, with one driving van trailer passenger car and four other passenger cars, with a leading power car unit; plus two spare power cars. They are used on the Dammam–Riyadh Line. During 2013 the travel time is 4:15 but there is a target of 3:00 for the future.

Trainsets

Class	Image	Top speed		Number	Remarks	Built
		mph	km/h
CAF		112	180	8 passenger units, 10 power cars (5001-5010)	Passenger trainsets with dedicated power cars.	2011

Diesel Locomotives

Class	Image	Top speed		Number	Remarks	Built
		mph	km/h
ALCO RS-1		65	105	6	Series 1000-1005 Diesel-electric locomotives. Originally Arabian American Oil Company A11x50-A11x51, 1002-1005	1947–1951
EMD SW1001				5	Series 1022-1026 Order 818000 1/5 Diesel-electric locomotives.[5]	1981
Class 2400		50	80	7	Secondhand Diesel-electric locomotives taken over from NS by Volker Stevin in 1976 for construction works for a seaport in Jubail. Former 2427, 2445, 2485, 2497, 2499, 2519, 2523. Renumbered into 101-107. Sold to Archirodon for rail reconstruction between Damman and Riyadh and renumbered to 276-04 - 276-09. Some scrapped in 1983. Others active until 1994 and stored in Hofuf afterwards.[6]	1954–56
EMD G18				16	Series 1006-1021 Orders 710971-710975, 713081-713082, 713233-713235, and 748005 1/6 Diesel-electric locomotives.	1968–1976
EMD GP18M				1	Series 1200 Order 700178 Diesel-electric locomotives.[5] rated at 1500 horsepower	1961
EMD FP7A				2	Series 1500-1501 Order 7019 Diesel-electric locomotives taken over from Arabian American Oil Company (their 1006-1007).[7]	1953
EMD FP9A				7	Series 1502-1508 Orders 701553, 701493-701494, 702272-702275 Diesel-electric locomotives	1956–1959
GP38-2				1	Series 2000. Order 712783. Diesel-electric locomotives	1973
GPL38S				7	Series 2001-2007. Order 201288865. Diesel-electric locomotives	2015
GT22CW				3	Series 2001-2003. Order 748004. Diesel-electric locomotives	1976
SDL38-2				6	Series 2004-2009. Order 778050. Diesel-electric locomotives[8]	1978
SDL38				6	Series 2030-2035. Order 20148061 Diesel-electric locomotives	2016
EMD SDL50				31	Series 3500-3530 Diesel-electric locomotives[9]	1981–2005
EMD SD70ACS				61	Series 4000-4060 Diesel-electric locomotives for a mineral railway[10]	2010–2016
GT46ACS				17	Series 4300-4316. Orders 20118517 and 20148134. Diesel-electric locomotives	2013–2015
Class 319.2		75	120	>4	Diesel-electric locomotives bought second hand.[11]

Expansion

The SRO has several plans to expand the network as part of the Saudi Railway Master Plan 2010-2040 (SRMP). Some of the projects under the plan are:

• Saudi Landbridge: The Landbridge project is aimed at connecting the Red Sea with the Persian Gulf. It will involve the construction of a 950 km line from Jeddah Islamic Port to Riyadh, and a 115 km line from Dammam to Jubail.^[12][13]
• North-South line^[14]
• The Gulf Railway project is a propose railway network of 2116 km linking all GCC countries. The length of the track inside Saudi Arabia would be 663 km.^[15]
• The SRO also has plans to construct three lines in southern Saudi Arabia to improve the region's connectivity with the rest of the country. The lines are the Taif-Khamis Mushayt–Abha line (706 km), the Jeddah-Jizan line (660 km), and the Yanbu–Jeddah line (350 km).^[16]

See also

• Saudi Arabia portal

• Saudi Arabia Railways
• Rail transport in Saudi Arabia
• Transport in Saudi Arabia
• Haramain High Speed Railway

References

1. "Passengers & Cargo Statistics" (PDF). Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. "Welcome in Saudi Rail Ways". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
3. "Saudi Railways Organization and Saudi Railways Company merger approved". Global Railsay Review. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
4. "سياسي / مجلس الوزراء يعقد جلسته ـ عبر الاتصال المرئي ـ برئاسة خادم الحرمين الشريفين وكالة الأنباء السعودية". Archived from the original on 17 February 2021.
5. "Saudi Arabia - Saudi Railways Organisation : Prototypes by Country - TT scale trains and models".
6. Dierdorp, Sicco & Davy Beumer (2011), D.E.-Locomotieven serie 2200/2300 en 2400/2500. Alkmaar: De Alk
7. "Pictures of SRO 1501". www.rrpicturearchives.net.
8. Ward, compiled by Jeffery S. "EMD 778050; SDL38-2; Saudi Arabia; Gov't Ry 2004-2009".
9. "RailPictures.Net Photo: SRO 3527 Saudi Railways Organization EMD SDL50 at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by Tom Hewitt". www.railpictures.net.
10. HaRakevet: Rothschild PhD, Rabbi Walter (2010), New mineral railway Issue 90
11. "World rolling stock market May 2014", www.railwaygazette.com, 11 May 2014
12. "Landbridge Project". SRO.
13. "Saudi bidding hots up". Railway Gazette International. 10 March 2008. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020.
14. "North-South Line Project". SRO.
15. "SRO".
16. "Projects Underway". SRO. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016.

• Al Ayuni Investment and Contracting Company,Saudi Railway CTW400 Project Main Contractor