Dammam- The Saudi Railway Company (SAR) is close to inaugurating a train line for passengers that links Riyadh and the King Khalid International Airport with the northern borders of the country.

The company inaugurated a trial trip between the capital and the city of Majmaah; the trip was attended by Dr. Rumaih Al Rumaih, CEO of the Saudi Arabia Railway Company (SAR), where he was briefed on the company’s preparation to operate the train of passengers.

Rumaih examined self-service devices of ticketing, luggage zones, inspection points, and the service in the train during trip. With this step, Saudi Arabia is close to making the longest rail line linking the country’s heart with its northern region.

SAR also announced that it reached the maximum capacity in transporting metals by carrying around 787, 000 tons during September; the highest record achieved since the operation of metal transfer line in 2011.

SAR has made remarkable achievements in the transportation of metals between mines, treatment and export zones. Transited quantities of phosphate and bauxite have reached 434.091 tons and 353.500 tons respectively during September.

For his part, Dr. Rumaih lauded the remarkable cooperation between SAR and the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden), and the spirit of teamwork that led to reaching these records.

He also asserted that the records achieved by SAR come as results of the integration among sectors of operation, maintenance of infrastructure, rails, centers of command, in addition to the sectors of support. Rumaih highlighted the significant expertise and knowledge built by the company over the past five years in operating and managing services of metal transportation.

SAR’ CEO pointed that the metal transportation line didn’t only contribute to enhancing metal in industry in the Kingdom, but has also fulfilled qualitative values in many fields. It has decreased the country’s dependence on trucks and reduced diesel consumption by 70%, which has maintained the safety of environment and reduced the number of accidents on the roads.

It is worth mentioning that the Saudi Railway Company (SAR) owned by the Public Investment Fund was established in 2006. It aims at implementing and operating rail networks to links different regions in the Kingdom.