North–South Line (Saudi Arabia)

SAR North–South Railway Line (Saudi Arabia)

The SAR North–South Railway line is a 2,750 km (1,709 mi) network of railway lines in central and eastern Saudi Arabia, built and operated by the Saudi Railway Company. The primary line of the network connects the capital of the kingdom, Riyadh, to the border with Jordan at Al Hadithah.

The line starts from Al-Jalamid mine which is located in the northeast in the Northern Territory, through Al-Jawf and Hail until arriving at the "AlBaithah railway junction" in the Qassim region. It then heads towards the southeast for processing and export facilities at Ras Al-Khair in the Eastern Province near Jubail. The line shares infrastructure with the SAR Riyadh-Qurayyat Line between Buraidah and Al Nafud. The line is a dedicated freight corridor, however, the SAR Riyadh-Qurayyat Line operates only passenger services.

SAR North–South Railway Line Rail Service

The primary line shares infrastructure with the SAR Riyadh-Qurayyat line, and connects Riyadh to the border with Jordan at Al Haditha. Branch lines connect this main line to Ra's al-Khair (via Bauxite Junction), Hazm al-Jalamid (via Phosphate Junction), and Al Baseeta (via Al Baseeta Junction).

SAR North–South Railway Line Stations

Province                    City Station                   Additional connections

Al Jawf                        Al Baseetah Junction    Al Baseetah
Northern Borders    Al Haditha                      Jordan
Ha'il                            Al Zabirah Junction       Ra's al-Khair and Al Zabirah via Bauxite Junction
Qassim                      Buraidah
Ha'il                            Ha'il
Al Jawf                        Phosphate Junction      Hazm al-Jalamid via Sakakah

Northern Borders    Qurayyat
Riyadh                        Riyadh                             King Khalid Int'l Airport
Riyadh   0.0 km         Riyadh                             Riyadh Dammam–Riyadh lines
Planned:                  Saudi Landbridge        Operation on 1,392 kilometres (865 mi) long freight part of the project connecting Al-Haditha and Jalamid with new port city Ras Al-Khair was started in Jan 2015.

An 85 km link is planned which would connect the North–South railway with the port at Jubail.

SAR North–South Railway Line Infrastructure

The first six of 25 EMD SD70ACS freight locomotives ordered in April 2009 were handed over to SAR at Port Dammam on 22 August 2010.

Passenger diesel push–pull trains made by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles arrived in April 2015, and are designed to run at 200 km/h (125 mph) up to 55 degrees C. Each of the SAR trains includes a restaurant car, family zone and a prayer compartment, as well as both seating and sleeping cars. They are expected to run in formations of nine and 13 cars.

The North-South line uses the European ERTMS Level 2 signalling system, the largest use of the system in the world.

North–South Line (Saudi Arabia)

SAR North–South Railway Line Overview

SAR North–South Railway Line Status: Operational
SAR North–South Railway Line Owner: Saudi Railway Company (SAR)
SAR North–South Railway Line Termini:
Al Haditha
Riyadh
SAR North–South Railway Line Stations: 16
SAR North–South Railway Line Service Type: Freight
SAR North–South Railway Line Services: SAR Riyadh-Qurayyat line
SAR North–South Railway Line Operator(s): Saudi Railway Company (SAR)
SAR North–South Railway Line Rolling Stock: 25 EMD SD70ACS Locomotives
SAR North–South Railway Line Line Length: 2,750 kilometres (1,708.8 mi)
SAR North–South Railway Line Track Length: 2,750 kilometres (1,708.8 mi)
SAR North–South Railway Line Track Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge