Saudi’s North-South railway to begin operations in early 2017

Saudi Arabia’s North-South Railway is expected to open within two to three months following a trail run last week.

Riyadh governor Prince Faisal bin Bandar told local media the line would launch in early 2017 and would save lives by reducing the number of commuters, according to Arab News.

His comments followed a trial run of the service from Riyadh to Al-Majma’ah on Thursday.

Saudis are expected to operate the service and work in command and control functions.

“We are proud of our young Saudis who will drive this train. SAR has worked from the beginning to send Saudi citizens abroad to learn how to operate the train,” Prince Faisal was quoted as saying.

The North-South line is 1,250km long with services stretching from Riyadh to Al-Majma’ah, Qasim, Hail and Jouf and Al-Qurayyat

Each train will have 12 cars with three small praying areas and allocated spaces for people with special needs.

Regional rail projects have been hit by a number of delays this year brought on by low oil prices.

Read: Obstacles on the line for GCC rail projects