Saudi Arabia Railways' H1 passengers soar to over 5mln

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Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) has issued the operational figures for the first half of 2024, which show that over 5.1 million passengers used SAR trains, a 17% increase over the same period last year.

SAR figures also show a 5% increase in trips on its network during the first half - 17,200 trips via the Eastern Train, Northern Train, and Haramain High-Speed Train networks.

The volume of minerals and goods transported through its network in the first half of this year exceeded 13.26 million tons, reflecting a 9% increase over the same period of 2023, said a statement from SAR.

This has contributed to foregoing over one million vehicle trips on the Kingdom's highways, and thus enhancing traffic safety, preserving the road infrastructure, and significantly lowering carbon emissions, in line with national objectives, it added.

On the successful Hajj operations, CEO Dr Bashar bin Khalid Al Malik said its credit mainly goes to the Saudi leadership for their unwavering support and also to SAR for ts continuous efforts, which have direct impact on passenger service, aligning with the objectives of the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services and the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

Al Malik said during the first six months, SAR has signed several strategic agreements and MoUs with global firms in bid to improve railway transportation services.

A key highlight is the agreement inked to kick off the first luxury train service in the Middle East and North Africa, in Q4 2025.

SAR also signed a contract to purchase 10 modern trains for the Eastern Railway Network, to improve travellers’ experience and reach national targets in the field.

It also sealed two MoUs with the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) to link the logistics zone in the second industrial city in Dammam to the railway network, facilitating access to various ports and enabling the industrial sector to connect to local, regional, and global markets.