Location Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Client Saudi Arabia Railways
Services Program Management
Project Value $7 Billion
Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) is undertaking an infrastructure program—one of the largest in the Middle East—to deliver the Saudi Landbridge Railway Network. The country’s first sea-to-sea rail corridor, the Landbridge will span approximately 1,500 kilometers from the Red Sea port city of Jeddah in the west to Dammam on the gulf coast in the east. The alignment will accommodate both freight and passenger traffic. By enhancing Saudi Arabia’s multimodal transportation capabilities, connecting major industrial hubs and ports, and integrating new logistics centers throughout the route, the Landbridge will create a transit corridor that reduces logistical costs, creates employment opportunities, and drives economic diversification in accordance with Saudi Vision 2030.
The program comprises four main components: railway infrastructure, logistics centers, rolling stock, and operations and maintenance. New rail segments include a 920-kilometer line connecting Jeddah and Riyadh; a 320-kilometer line between Jeddah and Yanbu passing through King Abdullah Port; and a 35-kilometer Riyadh bypass connecting Thumamah Station in the north to Al Malaz Station in the south. SAR’s program team will also upgrade existing rail lines between Riyadh and Dammam, between Dammam and Jubail, and within Jubail’s internal railway network. Seven new logistics centers will support efficient freight handling and multimodal connectivity along the entire alignment.
SAR is implementing the program in phases. Phase 1 consists of six railway segments divided into multiple procurement packages for infrastructure, signaling and telecommunications, stations and depots, and rolling stock. Phase 2 focuses on the development of the logistics centers, each to be procured through a separate work package.
In a joint venture with Italferr and Sener, Hill will serve as project management consultant, providing comprehensive support with tender preparation, procurement management, project execution planning, and project controls across all program phases. Our scope of services includes program and project management, engineering and design management, construction management, change management, risk management, quality assurance/quality control, contract and commercial management, stakeholder and interface coordination, environmental and sustainability management, health and safety oversight, logistics and staging, land acquisition management, and operational readiness support, including pre-commissioning and commissioning activities.
