Saudi Arabia Railways

Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR; Arabic: الشركة السعودية للخطوط الحديدية),^[2][3] formerly the Saudi Railway Company, is the national railway company of Saudi Arabia. It is de facto a state-owned enterprise, as it is owned by the Public Investment Fund.

Saudi Arabia Railways

Official Logo
Haramain High Speed Railway
Industry	Railway
Founded	23 May 2006; 18 years ago (2006-05-23)
Headquarters	Diplomatic Quarter, Building S-24, Riyadh , Saudi Arabia
Key people	Nabil Al-Amoudi (Chairman)[1]
Parent	Public Investment Fund
Website	www.sar.com.sa

Saudi Railways Organization was a major railway operator in Saudi Arabia, until it merged into Saudi Arabia Railways on April 1, 2021.^[4]

History

Saudi Arabia Railways, formerly the Saudi Railway Company, was established in 2006 to build, operate, and manage the north-south railway project.^[5]

Approval to merge the Saudi Railways Organization and Saudi Railway Company was announced in February 2021.^[4] The merger took place on April 1, 2021,^[6] and the combined company is now called Saudi Arabia Railways.^[7][2]

Lines

West Line (Haramain High Speed Railway)

• Medina - King Abdullah Economic City - Jeddah - Mecca

North Train (Riyadh–Qurayyat line)

• Riyadh - Majmaah - Ḥaʼil - Qassim (Buraidah) - Jauf (Sakakah) - Qurayyat - Jordan

East Train (Dammam–Riyadh line)

• Riyadh - Hufuf - Abqaiq - Dammam

Rolling stock

Class	Image	Top speed		Number	Remarks	Built
		mph	km/h
Talgo 350		220	350	36 trainsets	Operating on the Haramain High Speed Railway.	2015-2018
CAF push–pull train		124	200	6 trainsets (75 Passenger cars & 12 Power Cars)	Operating on the Riyadh-Qurayyat Line.[8][9]	2013
CAF push–pull train		112	180	8 passenger units, 10 power cars (5001-5010)	Passenger trainsets with dedicated power cars.	2011
EMD SD70ACS				61 Diesel Locomotives [5][10]	Heavy haul AC diesel-electric locomotives for a mineral railway.[11]	2010-2016
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.[12]	1981
NS Class 2400 (1954) [nl]		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.[13]	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.[12] 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).[14]	1953
EMD FP9A				7	Series 1502-1508 Orders 701553, 701493-701494, 702272-702275; Diesel-electric locomotives.	1956–1959
EMD GP38-2				1	Series 2000. Order 712783; Diesel-electric locomotives.	1973
EMD GPL38S				7	Series 2001-2007. Order 201288865; Diesel-electric locomotives.	2015
EMD GT22CW				3	Series 2001-2003. Order 748004; Diesel-electric locomotives.	1976
EMD SDL38-2				6	Series 2004-2009. Order 778050; Diesel-electric locomotives.[15]	1978
EMD SDL38				6	Series 2030-2035. Order 20148061; Diesel-electric locomotives.	2016
EMD SDL50				31	Series 3500-3530; Diesel-electric locomotives.[16]	1981–2005
EMD 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.[17]

See also

• Rail transport in Saudi Arabia

References

1. "Haramain Train to resume service within 30 days". Saudigazette. 1 October 2019.
2. "Saudi Arabia Railways invites bids to supply next generation inter-city trains". Railway Gazette International.
3. "Saudi Arabia Railways phosphate train". Network Rail.
4. "Saudi Railways Organization and Saudi Railways Company merger approved". Global Railsay Review. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
5. "Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. is Awarded New Locomotive Contract for 25 SD70ACS Locomotives from Saudi Railway Company (SAR)". Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
6. "سياسي / مجلس الوزراء يعقد جلسته ـ عبر الاتصال المرئي ـ برئاسة خادم الحرمين الشريفين وكالة الأنباء السعودية". 17 February 2021. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021.
7. "Train travel in Saudi Arabia | Riyadh to Dammam trains". www.seat61.com.
8. Push-Pull Train for the Saudi Railway Company (SAR).
9. "CAF wins contracts from Saudi Rail". 18 March 2012.
10. Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. Wins New Locomotive Contract for 25 SD70ACS Locomotives from Saudi Railway Company (SAR).
11. HaRakevet: Rothschild PhD, Rabbi Walter (2010), New mineral railway Issue 90.
12. "Saudi Arabia - Saudi Railways Organisation : Prototypes by Country - TT scale trains and models". Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
13. Dierdorp, Sicco & Davy Beumer (2011), D.E.-Locomotieven serie 2200/2300 en 2400/2500. Alkmaar: De Alk.
14. "Pictures of SRO 1501". www.rrpicturearchives.net.
15. Ward, compiled by Jeffery S. "EMD 778050; SDL38-2; Saudi Arabia; Gov't Ry 2004-2009".
16. "RailPictures.Net Photo: SRO 3527 Saudi Railways Organization EMD SDL50 at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by Tom Hewitt". www.railpictures.net.
17. "World rolling stock market May 2014", www.railwaygazette.com, 11 May 2014, archived from the original on 1 August 2020, retrieved 29 January 2023.

External links

• SAR| Home - Saudi Arabia Railways official website