DAMMAM, 20 May 2004 — Khaled ibn Hamad Al-Yahya, president of the Saudi Railways Organization, signed here Tuesday an SR53 million contract with an American company for the supply, operation and maintenance of 200 new two-tier cargo container carriages.
As per the agreement, the American company will also train Saudi manpower in operation and maintenance of the two-tier cargo carriages. Yahya said cargo transportation accounted for 60 percent of SRO’s income.
“The new carriages are built with advanced technology and Saudi Arabia is the fifth country to use them after the United States, Canada, Mexico and Australia,” Yahya told reporters after signing the accord.
The new carriages can transport four 20-feet cargo containers and two 40-feet containers in two stories instead of one as is the case in the present carriages.
“These carriages have economic and operational benefits as the railway needs fewer number of carriages to transport larger number of containers between the King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam and Riyadh,” Yahya said.
“The new carriages have increased SRO’s cargo transportation capacity, at the same time their price is only 20 percent more than ordinary ones,” he said. Last year SRO transported 240,000 cargo containers.
