Saudi Arabia’s New North-South Railway
A 2,000 km long railway will extend from North to South of Saudi Arabia. The project is being seen as a very ambitious feat because part of the track will be laid across some of the most inhabitable and hottest land in the world where the highest temperature has been recorded at 51.7 oC. The railway is planned to link major cities and be an addition to the 1,000 km of existing railway in the kingdom. There will be four phases of the project, with the first two working to transport the economic mineral deposits out of the region. The third phase will add transportation of passengers and freight between the capital city Riyadh and Al Zubairah. The last phase will be an extension of the railway to the Jordan border. The project is budgeted at US $2.8 billion for the completion of all four phases and has a projected operation date of 2011.
Holly MacGillivray
