The recently concluded Saudi 2020 Rail Forum attracted a large number of influential officials and professionals where the assembly discussed investment opportunities, logistics and technology.
The Saudi Railway Company (SAR), in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport, recently hosted the two-day 2020 Railway Forum in the Kingdom’s capital Riyadh, under the Royal Patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
The event garnered the interest of ministers, leaders and influential figures in the transport industry from different countries around the world, and is yet another achievement for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s economic renaissance in various fields, the most important of which is the transport sector, which is one of the pillars of the Kingdom’s 2030 vision.
Serious deliberations
The forum showcased the latest findings of the railways and transportation industry, while expanding the horizons of cooperation between concerned international companies, and employing the capabilities with the requirements of development and growth in the transport sector via railways. It also aims to elaborate modern national programs to develop this industry.
The forum aimed to shed light on the development and growth of the railway sector in the Kingdom, and to attract pioneering investments with local and global partnerships to highlight the Kingdom’s role as a major center for transport services in the region.
It placed the railways sector in the Kingdom on the global map, by attracting pioneers in the transportation sector, and creating a platform International to present results that vary between new concepts, exchange of successful experiences, put forward distinctive ideas, learn about modern technologies in the railway sector, and meet with influential people.
Ministers converge to venue
According to Ammar Bin Ahmed Al Nahdi, Director General, Corporate Communications and Marketing, SAR, HE the Saudi Minister of Transport Eng. Saleh Bin Nasser Al-Jasser participated in a discussion session titled ‘Towards 2030’, along with a group of transport ministers around the world.
Bashar Al Malik, CEO, Saudi Rail, also addressed the gathering.
Several CEOs from most prominent international companies also participated in multiple sessions. The presentations and discussions centred around ‘safety and security in the railway industry’. The discussions also focused on Railways Transport and Logistics, Multimodal Supply Chain; Future of Railways; Hyperloop System; Technological Innovation; Rail Operations Technologies; Smart Rail, Governance and investment.
Sponsors included the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden), the Etihad Rail Company, SABIC, Bahri, Public Authority for Transport.
Distinguished gathering
Prominent participants included Talal AlAnazi, Director Corporate HSE & Industrial security at Maaden; Eng. Abdullah Al-Yousef, Engineering support services Director at SAR; Kai Taylor, from the French Group Thales; Matthias Schubert, Executive Vice President Mobility, TÜV Rheinland Group, Engineer; Abdul Jabbar Bin Salem, Regional Operations Director Mena Infrastructure for the Middle East and North Africa, SNC Lavalin; Javier de la Cruz García Dihinx, CAF Rail Digital Services Managing Director, and Andres De Leon, CEO, HyperLoopTT.
The Saudi Railway Company (SAR) was established in 2006 by the Public Investment Fund to implement a railway project linking the north of the Kingdom to its East and its centre.
The most recent achievements of SAR were the launch of passenger services in the North Line in 2017 and the Two Holy Mosques in 2018. The company boasts one of the longest trains in the world, with a length of 3 km.
It runs the largest network of trains around the world through the European system – the second level -, which owns all assets including fixed and movable operating assets for all rail transport projects between cities in the Kingdom
