Sustainability for the future is a key consideration
Alstom, a global player in rail transport and sustainable mobility, is supporting and facilitating Saudi Arabia’s goal to comprehensively enhance the interconnectivity of the Kingdom and the development of major rail and metro projects, in line with its Vision for 2030.
Having been an integral part of Saudi Arabia’s history for almost 70 years, Alstom is now playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of transport systems and infrastructure in the Kingdom, by delivering best-in-class mobility solutions and projects.
In alignment with the Kingdom’s overall growth and in response to the ever-increasing public demand for the expansion of land transportation services, Saudi Arabia has continuously reiterated its commitment to developing an additional 10,000km of rail and metro by 2030.
A key factor in this commitment is the country’s ambition to lead the way in reducing transport emissions, relieving traffic congestion, improving residents’ health and quality of life, and progressively decarbonising rail transit in the Middle East.
Major investment
By 2024, Saudi Arabia is expected to have spent over US$ 48bn on rail projects throughout the Kingdom. At the forefront of this major investment in rail transport is the Riyadh Metro: the largest single-phase metro system project ever launched in the world.
An ongoing project, the Riyadh Metro’s lines 4, 5 and 6 have been built from scratch by Alstom and its civil partners, as part of the FAST consortium, and the fully integrated metro system is set to provide comprehensive, citywide, mass-transit coverage.
Alstom has supplied 69 Metropolis based Riyadh Metro trains and an Urbalis signalling system. As a leader in the improvement of environmental performance of rail across the region, Alstom has also implemented highly advanced and innovative HESOP (Harmonic Energy Saver) technology in the project.
Energy conservation
HESOP recovers the electrical energy generated by trains during braking, which, in addition to reducing operational costs, will cut about 3mn kilograms of carbon emissions and decrease power consumption by 6.6mn kilowatts per annum.
“We continue our support of the Kingdom’s economic growth and development, alongside its Vision for 2030, through the enhancement of infrastructure and the supply of sustainable solutions such as the Riyadh Metro,” commented Yasser Omar, Managing Director, Saudi Arabia, Alstom.
