This rendering exhibits the idea for the Dream of the Desert luxurious prepare deliberate for Saudi Arabia subsequent yr. It is 11 carriages are being constructed in Italy. Picture courtesy of Arsenale Group
Feb. 13 (UPI) — As a part of its effort to lure extra vacationers, Saudi Arabia is working with an Italian agency to construct a luxurious prepare that can carry passengers on in a single day journeys via two UNESCO World Heritage archaeological websites.
The Dream of the Desert locomotive will be capable of carry 80 vacationers in 40 luxurious cabins in 11 carriages, together with a restaurant.
The prepare, developed by the Italian Arsenale Group in an Orient Categorical type and operated by Saudi Arabia Railways, is predicted to be constructed by summer time 2025, with a maiden voyage the next November. The carriages are being inbuilt southern Italy.
The 770-mile route will run from the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, to Al Qurayyat within the northern province of Al Jawf, making stops in Al Qassim, Hail and Al Jouf, on the sting of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Nature Reserve.
Two of Saudi Arabia’s six World Heritage Websites are on the route — the Hail Area, which incorporates historic artwork representations of human and animal figures overlaying 10,000 years, and At-Turaif, a historic district situated in Al-Dir’iyah close to the capital.
Passengers will be capable of e-book a one- or two-night journey.
“We consider this prepare will give the individuals in Saudi Arabia and worldwide vacationers the prospect to go to one of the stunning components of the dominion,” Arsenale CEO Paolo Barletta instructed Arabian Gulf Enterprise Perception final yr in saying the corporate’s $75 million funding.
Arsenale can be engaged on the Orient Categorical on La Dolce Vita, a brand new luxurious rail service in Italy, and the United Arab Emirate’s nationwide railway firm, Etihad Railway, to develop a luxurious prepare that can journey throughout the Center Japanese peninsula. That challenge is about to launch this yr.
Saudi Arabia is working to broaden tourism — and reduce its financial reliance on oil. It goals to draw 100 million guests by 2030, up from 30 million in October 2023.
The nation’s Haramain Excessive Pace Railway opened in 2018 to attach the holy cities of Mecca and Medina with King Abdulaziz Worldwide Airport in Jeddah.
