Saudi Arabia’s “longest railway” running over 1700 miles between capital Riyadh and the northern city of Gurayat will kick-start operations on December 24, 2017.
Considered to be one of the world’s longest railway lines, the line will pass through Majmaa, Qassim, Hail, and the Al-Jouf regions of the Kingdom. Six railway stations are in the pipeline along the route, according to Construction Business News – Middle East.
The railway is expected to dramatically reduce transportation time from Saudi Arabia’s more remote northern regions into the capital Riyadh and places along the route.
The railway falls under the management of the Saudi Railway Co. and Saudi Railway General Corporation, which is privatizing in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic and social reform plan. Saudi Arabia has said it aims to raise around $200 billion in the next several years through privatization programs in 16 sectors ranging from oil to healthcare, education, transportation, and grain milling.
Saudi Arabia has made great strides in the construction of new railways across the Kingdom to connect different regions. The recently-completed Haramain train high speed railway project begun operations this year at a cost of $16.5 billion.
Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, is seeing significant progress on its long-awaited metro project which will aim to reduce traffic and enable greater mobility for more citizens of that city.
