Saudi Arabia Railways has announced that it has signed agreements with leading international rail companies - Alstom as well as US groups Progress Rail and Greenbrier - for the manufacture and supply of locomotives and freight cars in support of the kingdom's Phosphate 3 expansion project.

These contracts, inked on the opening day of InnoTrans, International Trade Fair for Transport Technology, in Berlin, are mainly aimed at expanding freight capacity, improving fleet reliability as well as upgradation of systems as the kingdom strengthens its transport and logistics network.

SAR said the contract with Greenbrier covers the design, manufacture, and supply of 782 new freight cars, while the agreement with Progress Rail covers the purchase of 33 new freight locomotives.

The deals include a €22 million ($26 million) five-year contract with French rail company Alstom to support SAR’s North Freight fleet.

Under this, Alstom will provide maintenance services for critical onboard systems installed on locomotives operating along SAR’s North-South corridor.

The route carries about 13.5 million tonnes of freight annually and connects mining sites with processing facilities and export points.

"Our partnership with SAR is built on a shared ambition to strengthen rail performance and support the Kingdom’s long-term transport objectives," stated Mohamed Khalil, Alstom’s managing director for the Middle East.

"Early this year, Saudi Arabia Railways had announced five new logistics corridors to improve supply chain efficiency and integration between transport modes, supporting Vision 2030 ambitions to position the Kingdom as a global logistics hub," said a spokesman for SAR.

All these contracts aim to enhance the readiness and reliability of SAR’s locomotive and freight car fleet to support the phosphate transport expansion, boost capacity, and improve the efficiency and sustainability of rail freight operations, he added.-TradeArabia News Service