A Spanish consortium, led by Talgo and Renfe has signed a contract for a high speed rail line connecting Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
The contract is valued at €6.9 billion.
The contract involves the construction, operation and 12 year maintenance of the Haramain High Speed Rail line.
On the 450 km line, trains will operate at speeds of over 300 km/h and will provide services to more than 160,000 passengers per day, linking the two Holy Cities in two hours.
Talgo will be responsible for the construction of 35 ‘Talgo 350’ trainsets and 12 years of maintenance services, with a future purchase option of 20 additional trains.
The Talgo 350 is the ‘best-in-class high speed train in terms of energy consumption, accessibility, comfort and safety and fully adapted to the severe climatic conditions of Saudi Arabia,’ the rolling stock manufacturer said.
The trains will be specially adapted to the desert conditions.
SPANISH ARE THE EXPERTS !