Dammam – Riyadh railway line 1

Damman – Riad 1
Passenger train on the Dammam – Riyad 1 route
Route number :	1
Route length:	449 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Legend King Abdul Aziz Port 0 Damam to Al Khubar 19th Zahran 42 Ghunan 74 Abqaiq 82 Uyun after Foda 107 Al Mubarraz 118 Al Qarn Al Sha'bah 131 Hoof 139/0 Al Mansurah to route 2 44 Al Tuhaymiya 130 Ar Rubayda 195 Khurays Siding 287 Route 2 to Riyadh airport 310 Riad

Map of the existing and planned railway lines in Saudi Arabia

The Dammam – Riyadh 1 railway connects the port city of Dammam on the Persian Gulf with the capital of Saudi Arabia , Riyadh , over 449 km . It is operated by the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO).

history

In 1978 an Italian company received the order to expand the existing Dammam – Riyadh 2 railway line operated by the Saudi Aramco Petroleum Company (ARAMCO) . This order was soon expanded to include a second, shorter route between Dammam and Riyadh. In 1980 the Saudi state completely took over ARAMCO. The state's railways and the railroad infrastructure became state sponsored. The entire length of the second route to Riyadh (today: route 1) was inaugurated on May 12, 1985.

State of development

The Dammam – Riad 1 railway is a standard - gauge, single - track, non- electrified line that is operated exclusively with diesel locomotives . Between Dammam and Al Mansurah , the line runs for 139 km parallel to the Dammam – Riyadh 2 railway line. However, it is a separate infrastructure . Each of the routes is operated as a separate route. UIC 60 type rails are used . The point machines are protected from sand by housings.

The technical equipment and the systems that ensured operational safety were quite simple until 2009. There were neither up-to-date signals nor technical train protection. A consortium made up of Siemens Transportation Systems and the Saudi Arabian Nour Communications Company modernized the route between 2005 and 2009. It was equipped with modern signal systems with block points and ETCS Layer 1 . Because of the extreme weather conditions, their balises have special sun protection. In addition, GSM-R was introduced for control and radio communication . The system is controlled by ten Simis signal boxes from Siemens . The control center with four operator positions is located in Dammam. The line is to be double-tracked and upgraded to 150 km / h.

traffic

Rail passenger traffic is carried out exclusively on route 1, while route 2 is used exclusively for freight traffic . The passenger trains offer three different carriage classes . There are two classes for men and a strictly separate one for women only. In 2014, 1.5 million passengers were carried. In the Riyadh-Dammam connection, that is around 15% of passenger traffic. The fares for the entire route are between € 14 and € 31 and are heavily subsidized by the state in order to limit individual traffic on the road.

For the future offer, the RSO had ordered six 13-part Talgo sets, each with two power cars, with an order value of 200 million US dollars . They should be designed for 200 km / h. Due to the poor economic situation in the country and the lower oil price, the order was canceled.

literature

• Neil Robinson: World Rail Atlas and historical summary . Volume 8: The Middle East and Caucasus. 2006.
• siem: ETCS in Saudi Arabia . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 2009, p. 422.

Web links

• Website of the Saudi Railway (English)

Remarks

1. ↑ The petrol costs for a car on the route are around 10 € (NN: Passenger Traffic . In: HaRakevet 2015/111: 09, C: Saudi Arabia (i), p. 13).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Robinson, p. 42.
2. ↑ Robinson, p. 43.
3. ↑ Technical information on SRO ( Memento of the original from April 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ siem.
5. ↑ siem.
6. ↑ Siemens AG: Dammam - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .  
7. ↑ HaRakevet 107 (December 2014), p. 14.
8. ^ NN: Passenger Traffic . In: HaRakevet 2015/111: 09, C: Saudi Arabia (i), p. 13.
9. ↑ to / mr: Talgo diesel multiple units for Saudi Arabia . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 5/2015, p. 244.
10. ^ Talgo Order Canceled . In: HaRakevet 110 (2015), p. 24.