France’s Thales bags maintenance contract for North-South Railway Line

The Saudi Railway Company (SAR) has signed a two-year agreement with France’s Thales to maintain the signaling, telecommunication and electromechanical systems of the Kingdom’s North-South Railway Line, Thales said in a statement.

The maintenance activities will be performed by Thales engineers and technicians located across eight maintenance bases situated along the 2,400 kilometers of railway line.

The contract also includes the transfer of knowledge through a training program that will enable SAR’s maintenance team to completely take over the project by the end of the contract.

Starting in Riyadh, the North-South Railway Line reaches up to the northern border town of Hudaitha passing by Sudair, Qassim, Hail and Al-Jouf. It also links the phosphate and bauxite mines in Jelamaid and Baitha with industrial plants in Ras Al-Khair, Jubail and Dammam.

The line, which is also linked with the Waad Al-Shamal City, started services in February this year.