With the Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) having invited applications for pre-qualification from contractors to take part in the Saudi Landbridge tender process last month, the kingdom’s ambitious plan of linking the major cities along its breadth has crossed a significant landmark.

These will link the kingdom’s principal ports on the east and west coasts with its industrial nerve centres.
The pre-qualification will be closely followed by invitations to tender in the third quarter of this year and bids are due back in the first quarter of 2006. It is expected that the SRO will select a preferred bidder for final negotiations by mid-2006 and award the concession in the third quarter of next year.
The project received a shot-in-the-arm when it attracted a huge participation from the various national and international financial institutions, rail companies, manufacturers, and contractors at a Project Day in London – organised to introduce the Saudi Landbridge project to the international community of investors and contractors at the end of January.
“The government is strongly committed to this project, which will bring to fruition the vision of a visionary leader. This is your opportunity to participate in an historic dream,” said Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Transport Dr Jobarah Al-Suraisry while inviting potential partners to take a stake in the nascent Saudi Landbridge rail link.
A dream of the founding father of modern Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz – the rail link will create a new dimension in land transport across the Saudi Arabian peninsula, transforming the existing rail network into a world-class freight and passenger rail system.
The Landbridge – the first ever rail link between the Red Sea and the Gulf –  will be one of the largest BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects ever undertaken in the Middle East and is expected to have a profound impact on shipping patterns in the region. “It is a key initiative in the Railway Expansion Programme approved by the kingdom’s Supreme Economic Council”, says Suraisry.
The Landbridge will transform the existing rail network in the kingdom into a world-class freight and passenger rail link across the country and will have the capability of moving large quantities of cargo over long distances at competitive rates. The network will offer safe, comfortable, and fast overland passenger transport between the country’s four major economic centres, linking the port cities of Jeddah, Dammam and Jubail via the capital city Riyadh (population: 5 million).
The project will comprise:
• Construction of a 95-km new line between Riyadh and Jeddah. This line, in conjunction with the existing Riyadh-Dammam lines, will be primarily used for the transport of container traffic between the port of Jeddah and Riyadh as well as the port of Dammam for further shipment to and from the Gulf countries. The line will also be used to transport passengers between Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam.
• Construction of a 115-km new line between Dammam and Jubail, the largest industrial city in Saudi Arabia hosting many world-class petrochemical industries.
• Upgrade of the existing rail link between Riyadh and Dammam to provide for increased traffic volumes generated by the Landbridge. It will also include connection to the new Riyadh-Jeddah and Dammam-Jubail lines and integration of the new lines with Jeddah Islamic Port, King Abdul Aziz Port, Dammam and Riyadh Dry Port.
Riyadh’s Dry Port, which in 2003 handled more than 250,000 TEUs of cargo by rail from and to Dammam’s King Abdul Aziz Port, is expected to experience a large boost in its activity once the Landbridge becomes operational. The dry port, opened in 1981, has proved very popular with importers in Riyadh who value the facility of clearing their custom bonded goods at their final destination rather than in Dammam. The Landbridge will extend the same facility to imports via Jeddah’s Islamic Port. The seaports in Jeddah and Dammam are the largest in Saudi Arabia, with an annual handling of 2.4 million and 0.75 million TEUs respectively.
Riyadh and Dammam are currently linked by two lines: a 556-km single-track built in the 1950s, used only by freight trains; and a 449 km single-track built in the 1980s, used exclusively by passenger trains.
Economics
The Landbridge is seen as a boon to all inward moving cargo from European and US ships into the mainland. Although the Jeddah Islamic Port is the principal regional calling point for shipping services between Europe and Asia via the Suez Canal, shipping companies have been using Jebel Ali in the UAE as a second hub to serve the Gulf countries. The transfer of goods to Jebel Ali requires an extra eight or nine days to sail around the peninsula. Offloading Gulf traffic at Jeddah for transfer via the landbridge and feeder ships from Dammam is expected to offer a reduction in shipping costs by an estimated $100 million for every vessel saved.
Management
While SRO has been designated as the executing agency for the project, its implementation is being overseen by an inter-ministerial steering committee, chaired by Khalid Al Alyahya, president of SRO.
SRO has retained a team of international advisors to help with planning and structuring the Landbridge concession. A consortium comprising UBS Investment Bank, the National Commercial Bank and SNCF International has been selected by SRO to provide financial and technical advisory services for the Saudi Landbridge. Linklaters and the Law Office of Abdulaziz Al-Fahd will provide legal services.
Detailed traffic forecasts are at an advanced stage. The optimal route corridor has been identified, and Parsons Brinckerhoff has been appointed to define the route alignment more accurately within the corridor. Preparation of a new operating rulebook, timetable structure and operating plan are also under way. 
Work has also been completed on the design of the regulatory framework and concession structure.
The government has agreed to expedite the necessary building permits, and will guarantee the capacity and throughput efficiency at the state-owned ports. It will also formally commit not to build a competing railway in the same corridor during the life of the concession. Various other aspects including the preparation of the capital and operating cost estimates for the project are now being prepared, together with investment requirements and revenue projections. The government will acquire and provide the land for the rail link and terminals.
Tech specs
Technical specifications for the Landbridge are being drawn up by SNCF International, according to which, the line will carry up to 40 double-stack container trains per day, running at 120 km/h, and four or five 220 km/h passenger services operated by the franchisee. All trains will be diesel-powered and each container train is expected to carry around 400 TEUs.
The standard gauge line is being designed for 250 km/h operation, with a minimum radius of 3,500 m and a maximum cant of 150 mm.
The route will initially be built as single track with 20-km-long dynamic passing loops every 50 km. High-speed turnouts are envisaged to suit both passenger and freight trains. The whole line will be controlled by CTC (Centralised Traffic Control), with signalling designed to ERTMS Level 2 specifications.
SRO is currently assessing bids from Siemens and Invensys for resignalling its existing network.
Civil works will be designed to permit double-tracking in the future. The route includes around 28 km of tunnels through the hills to the east of Jeddah, and around 100 bridges to be built to take double track.
The line is being specified for 25-tonne axle-loads, which is the optimum compromise between the differing freight and passenger requirements.
Apart from the Landbridge project, SRO is also developing two other lines: one known as the Northern-Southern Line and the other, the Makkah-Madinah line.
Northern-Southern line: This 2,200 km line links the north of the kingdom (Hazm Al-Jalamid) in Riyadh, crosses Jouf, Hail and Qassim and also links Az-Zabirah to Ra’s Az-zawr.
Makkah-Madinah expansion: Designed to facilitate Umrah visitors and Hajj pilgrims travelling between Makkah and Madinah every year, the expansion of the Makkah Madinah Rail Link – also to be developed on a BOT basis – which will involve:
• Construction of a new line between         Jeddah and Makkah;
• Construction of a new line between   Jeddah and Madinah; and
• Construction of a spur from the Jeddah-Madinah line to Yanbu.