Spanish railway firm Talgo introduced on Sunday that it has been awarded the contract to fabricate and keep 20 new high-speed trains for Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) for the Haramain Excessive Pace Railway connecting the cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jeddah.
The €1.3 billion ($1.54 billion) order will improve the corporate’s order e book to a document excessive of practically €6 billion, it stated in a press assertion.
The contract was awarded by the Ministry of Transportation and Logistics and Ministry of Finance by means of the Saudi Spanish Prepare Mission Firm (SSTPC), the Spanish consortium accountable for the Part II of the Haramain Excessive Pace Railway mission of which Talgo is a member.
At the moment, SAR has a fleet of 35 ‘Talgo 350’ trains with a most business velocity of 300 km/h. These 35 trains have been delivered in 2018 and are maintained by the corporate.
Every prepare consists of two energy vehicles (locomotives) and 13 coaches with a capability of 417 seats distributed in two courses, along with devoted areas for catering and passengers with lowered mobility.
The present fleet operates greater than 100 providers on a typical day, a quantity that jumps to greater than 140 day by day providers throughout the annual Hajj pilgrimage season, in keeping with Talgo’s press assertion. In 2025, practically 2 million passengers have been transported throughout Hajj.
With this new contract, Talgo can be answerable for sustaining all of the trains that may make up the expanded fleet – the 35 current trains and the 20 extra ones – till 2033, with the opportunity of extending the contract till 2038.
The corporate additionally operates two upkeep services in Saudi Arabia, using greater than 270 individuals.
SAR stated in a social media submit that supply of the trains will start in 2028 and full by 2031, noting that the brand new trains will improve the whole fleet capability to 30 million seats per 12 months.
The Haramain Railway line is 450 kilometers lengthy with a most business velocity of 300 km/h and ERTMS degree 2 signaling.
In December 2025, Saudi Arabia and Qatar signed an settlement to implement a high-speed railway mission linking the 2 nations.
In September final 12 months, the Kingdom began the tendering course of for the Qiddiya high-speed rail mission below the public-private partnership (PPP) mannequin. The mission goals to attach King Salman Worldwide Airport, King Abdullah Monetary District (KAFD) and Qiddiya Metropolis.
(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Enhancing by Anoop Menon)
(anoop.menon@lseg.com)
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