The Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) is to open a pre-qualification process next month for tenders for the massive rail project that will link the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah to the Red Sea Port City of Jeddah. This process follows a similar procedure initiated for the Saudi Landbridge Project, that will also link Jeddah to the other side of the Arabian Peninsula at Dammam, through the capital city of Riyadh.

To publicise the process, the SRO is to hold a Makkah Madinah Rail Link Project Day in Jeddah on 23 May 2006 at which all aspects of the project will be explained for potential applicants.

The Rail Link is a key part of the Railway Expansion Program and will provide a fast, safe and reliable passenger transport service, propelling Saudi Arabia into the world of high speed rail. The project is to be implemented through private sector participation on a DBOT (Design, Build, Operate and Transfer) basis, and will be offered as a long term concession through open competition. It presents a unique opportunity for high speed rail technology suppliers, passenger rail operators, civil and electro-mechanical contracting companies and other investors, to participate in a project which will have a significant impact on the social and economic development in the Makkah and Madinah regions.

The Makkah Madinah Rail Link Project will comprise the construction of approximately 500km new high speed electrified railway line in the Makkah and Madinah regions, equipped with a modern signalling and telecommunications system and the provision of state-of–the-art train.  The selected Concessionaire will operate and maintain the system, and provide additional capacity to meet future increase in demand during the concession period.

The Saudi Landbridge Project will also see the construction of more than 1,000 km of track for both freight and a high-speed passenger service. For all information regarding the prequalification process on both projects, please visit the link below to the rail expansion website, operated by the SRO and the Ministry of Transport.

Participation in the Makkah Madinah Rail Link Project Day will be by invitation only and application forms for the invitation can be filled in by visiting www.ubs.com/mmrlprojectdayjeddah

Saudi Railways Organization reserves the right to issue invitations for the Project Day at its sole discretion. Invitations are expected to be issued by 9 May 2006.

Links:

Saudi Railways Expansion Programme

The Saudi Railways Organisation