Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) has secured a $260m (€200m) service contract from railway operator Saudi Arabia Railway (SAR).
The scope of the five-year contract includes the maintenance of the state-owned railway operator’s train fleet, including technical support and other related services.
CAF, in collaboration with SAR, will conduct maintenance work on the trains supplied by the company in the country over recent years.
These units are presently operating on the North-South line that links the capital city of Riyadh to Qurayyat on the Jordanian border.
They also operate on the East-West line that links Riyadh to Dammam, spanning over 1,700km.
Besides, the units link other major areas of the country, including Hail, Al-Qassim, and Al-Hofuf.
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By GlobalDataAdditionally, an agreement has been signed to set up a joint engineering department. Called the ‘Engineering Excellence Centre’, it will be aimed at training employees of the Saudi operator.
The training will be intended to help staff develop operating skills to conduct maintenance work on the units.
It will also help adapt the Saudi firm’s facilities for the revamp of the units’ main systems. This includes fitting out certain areas to modernise engines and pneumatic components, adapting the workshops for bogie and axle maintenance, as well as changing rolling gear.
Furthermore, SAR’s ‘DIGITAL HUB CENTRE’ will be deployed under the contract as a benchmark centre in the Gulf for digitalisation of trains.
The project is based on CAF’s LeadMind digital train platform to support the creation of a new generation of connected trains.
In a statement, CAF said: “This new contract will see CAF continue to work towards and collaborate in the development of the region’s railway capacities, committed to supporting the country’s strategic transport plan: Vision 2030.”
Last month, CAF reached an agreement with Iberdrola to promote solutions for replacing fossil fuel-driven trains with emission-free trains to run on non-electrified lines.