Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Railways

This months presentation by one of own members Stuart Hicks who took part in a group visit to see as much as possible of the railways which now operate as SAR – Saudi Arabian Railways. Modern standard gauge railways only started after second world war and initially a line was built by the American oil companies. This and subsequent lines were ultimately combined into SAR. The aim is to get more people to travel by rail and this was illustrated by modern high quality stations built in the major cities. The aim of the group was to travel on a number of lines and railway facilities however some visits were limited as the party was accompanied by a government representative. The first views concentrated on a Freight Railway and the dominant motive power were EMD SD70 locos built from 2010 onwards. They appeared to have been fitted with air filters to cope with the extreme sand when crossing the desserts. Mineral traffic appeared to be the main cargo but Container trains were also in operation between Riyadh and the port on the Persian Gulf. A few older American locos were in evidence for freight yard shunting. There were modern facilities for Maintenance. There were also some Chinese built locos but it is understood that they have never been used.

Several passenger trips were made using a variety of modern rolling stock. CAF has supplied two types of locos and rolling stock which are bidirectional. To serve the city of Mecca the Haramain high speed line has been built linking Mecca with Medina. It is equipped with Talgo high speed units capable of 300km/hr, however it was not certain that the trains reached this speed when the party were travelling, The remains of the Hejaz Railway were observed by following the route by coach. This was a narrow gauge line 3ft 6inch line linking Damascus with Medina closed in 1920. Some of the lines stations and locomotive remains are still in place. The largest remains are of the terminus at Medina where the buildings have been restored. There are also relatively new building for locomotives and rolling stock however the part were not able to gain access.

In addition to railways there were a number of views of the new extensive metro system being built for Riyadh in an attempt to deal with the current traffic problems. There were views of futuristic looking articulated trolley buses which operate to the University campus. Thanks to Stuart for the  interesting presentation which covered a subject which was new to most of the audience.