Talgo has been awarded a new contract to both manufacture and maintain a set of 20 new high-speed trains for Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR).
The contract, which will add 1.3 billion EUR to Talgo’s order book, will see the new units enter operation on the rail line connecting Mecca, Medina and Jeddah
The Talgo 250 high-speed train
© Talgo
The 20 trains will join 35 previously supplied by Talgo in 2018, which too operate in the desert and are completely maintained by the company.
An award for the units was made by the Kingdom’s Ministries of Transportation-Logistics and Finance through the Spanish Consortium which is in charge of the Phase II of the ‘Haramain High Speed Railway’ project – of which Talgo is a part.
All 20 units are set to possess equivalent characteristics to the 35 previously delivered Talgo trains, and will consist of two locomotives and 13 coaches with a capacity of 417 seats across two classes, as well as dedicated spaces for catering and passengers with reduced mobility. They will have full platform-level access and feature no steps on the interior.
The acquisition of the units forms part of the Kingdom’s plans to continue expanding passenger services to meet growing demand, with Phase 2 of the Haramain High Speed Railway’ project now having been extended for the operation and maintenance period. As a result of its new contract, Talgo will be responsible for maintaining all trains making up the expanded fleet until 2033, with the possibility of a contract extension through to 2038.