$5.3bn Saudi rail contract to be awarded soon

ON TRACK: Saudi Rail Organisation has given consortia three months to submit bids for $5.3 billion contract. (Getty Images)

The construction contract for the proposed $5.3 billion Makkah-Jeddah-Madinah railway project in Saudi Arabia will be awarded soon, it has been announced.

The Saudi Railway Organisation (SRO) has asked the four qualified consortia to present their technical and financial offers for the project within three months and the contract will then be awarded.

King Abdullah ordered the implementation of the project last February which he hopes will bring about major improvement in the transportation of pilgrims between the two holy cities, Arab News reported on Thursday.

The Makkah-Madinah Railway Link (MMRL), which is designed to operate trains with a speed of more than 300km per hour, would reduce travel time between Jeddah and Makkah to 30 minutes and between Jeddah and Madinah to two hours.

The MMRL includes the construction of 450km of high-speed electrified railway lines between Jeddah and Makkah and between Jeddah and Madinah.

The first part of the initial phase involves civil works for the railway linking Makkah and Madinah.

The second part of the first phase includes the building of stations while the project’s second phase comprises establishment of railway tracks, signaling and communication systems, import of carriages, operation and maintenance.

Abdul Aziz Al-Hoqail, president of the SRO, told the paper the project would ensure secure and speedy transportation for pilgrims as well as local passengers between the two holy cities.

The MMRL is part of a major railway expansion program that involves the construction of 950km of new tracks between Riyadh and Jeddah and a 115km line linking Dammam and Jubail.

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