Saudi Railways to complete east-north link soon; Jubail network to start in 2023: CEO

Logo of Saudi Arabia Railways Co. (SAR)

The project to connect the Saudi Railways east network to the north network will be delivered in the next few weeks, Al-Arabiya TV reported, citing CEO Bashar AlMalik.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association Forum (GPCA) in Dubai, AlMalik said Saudi Arabia Railways Co. (SAR) aims to add 8,000 kilometers of rail tracks to its network by 2030, against the current coverage of 5,500 km.

He pointed to the implementation of Al Jubail Industrial Network to serve plants and facilities within the city of Jubail, and to link them to a larger number of ports to export products safely and easily, noting that the Jubail Industrial Railways is expected to start operations next year.

SAR achieved historic figures during Q1 2022, transporting 5.5 million tons of goods and minerals and 1.5 million passengers in various networks, compared to 3 million passengers and 14 million tons of goods and minerals during 2021, the CEO noted.

SAR plans to sign during 2022 a number of agreements with industrial companies to transport their products, AlMalik said.

He added that SAR aims to reduce emissions by adopting the latest technologies, including hydrogen.