August 28, 2015 – Italferr, the engineering company of the Italian group Ferrovie dello Stato, has signed with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIFs) a contract for the extension of the preliminary draft and detail of the railway linking the port of Jeddah in the Red Sea to Al Jubail, on the Arabian Sea. About 1,300 kilometers of line will pass through Saudi Arabia in its entire width, joining the two seas around the Arabian Peninsula. The design phase will take Italferr 20 months from now. Once electrified, the line will allow passenger trains to tun at a speed up to 350 kilometers per hour. Also included in the project are stations, stores and maintenance centers. Italferr has gained the appreciation of the Saudi Railway Company – HRH (Saudi society in charge of project management) for the speed of the design and the identification of appropriate solutions to overcome problems such as the high temperatures and crossing large areas with sand dunes and rocky areas in the Saudi desert. With the project, Italferr strengthens its presence in foreign markets, especially in a particularly challenging one as that of Gulf countries.
