Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) has invited expressions of interest from leading contractors for the construction of a new railway line, called the Riyadh rail link, that will run from the north of Riyadh to the south, reported MEED.

 

The scope of the contract encompasses the construction of a 35-km-long double-track rail line, connecting SAR's North-South railway network with the Eastern Railway network.

 

The contract also includes the procurement, construction and installation of associated infrastructure, including viaduct construction, civil works, utility installations, signalling systems and other associated works, it stated.

 

The project is expected to become a key component of the $7-billion Saudi Landbridge railway project, featuring more than 1,500km of new track. Its core component is a 900km new railway between Riyadh and Jeddah, which will provide direct freight access to the capital from King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea.

 

Other key sections include upgrades to the existing Riyadh-Dammam line and a link between King Abdullah Port and Yanbu, it stated.

 

The start of the tendering activity for the Riyadh rail link project makes the construction of the Saudi Landbridge project even more likely, said the MEED report. 

 

The project is one of the kingdom’s most anticipated infrastructure programmes. Plans to develop it were first announced in 2004, but the project was put on hold in 2010 before being revived a year later, it added.