Transport closes a 2.8 billion contract on the Saudi AVE within the midst of the disaster for Adamuz and Rodalies | Companies | EUROtoday

The Ministry of Transport introduced this Sunday the signing of an settlement to increase, for 5 extra years, the continuity of Renfe as operator of the Saudi Arabia AVE line that connects Mecca and Medina, in addition to the acquisition of twenty trains from Talgo. An operation that the division headed by Óscar Puente values ​​at 2.8 billion euros.

Specifically, Renfe will proceed to function the Saudi AVE till 2038. For operation and upkeep companies, the operator will obtain a turnover of 300 million per 12 months from the Saudi Government, which brings the overall invoice to 1,500 million for the 5 new years of extension.

For its half, the order for 20 trains that Talgo has been awarded for manufacturing and upkeep for the native operator Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR), is valued at 1,332 million euros, taking the railway firm’s portfolio to historic highs, shut to six,000 million euros.

With this contract, Talgo expands its scope of operation within the Middle East. The 20 items are added to the 35 that Talgo already equipped in 2018, at the moment in service within the nation, and whose upkeep can also be carried out by the corporate.

The award was made by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics and the Ministry of Finance of Saudi Arabia, via the Spanish High Speed ​​Mecca-Medina Consortium (CEAVMM), accountable for Phase II of the Haramain High Speed ​​Railway venture.

Some contracts that arrive in the midst of the disaster within the Spanish railway sector, after the tragic accident that occurred in Adamuz (Córdoba), on the High Speed ​​line that connects Madrid and Seville; and likewise as a result of issues within the Rodalies community in Catalonia, after the loss of life of a practice driver after the collapse of a wall within the Barcelona city of Gelida. Both accidents left a complete of 47 fatalities and greater than 150 injured.

Óscar Puente, who has closed the operation within the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, together with his counterpart from that nation, Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, describes it as “fundamental for Spanish companies, because it guarantees the continuity of Renfe at the head of the project and represents a boost for Talgo’s commercial activity,” he signifies in a press launch printed by Transportes.

Puente provides that the settlement demonstrates that Spanish corporations within the railway sector “are leading in the world, both in terms of infrastructure construction and quality in the operation of the service.” The Minister of Transport has additionally signed two memoranda of understanding with Saudi Arabia on future mobility and civil aviation.

Line exercise

In 2025, the Saudi AVE reached a file variety of vacationers with practically 10 million, surpassing the 9.1 million that had already set the file in 2024.

35 Talgo 350 trains already function there, with a most industrial pace of 300 km/h. Each unit of the 20 that can be added to the service can be made up of two tractor items and 13 vehicles, with a capability of 417 seats distributed in two lessons, in addition to areas for catering and for passengers with decreased mobility. In addition, Talgo can be accountable for sustaining all the fleet – the 35 present items and the 20 new ones – till 2033, with the potential of extension till 2038.

The enlargement of the fleet will enable for strengthening the operations of the road, which on a traditional day exceeds 100 every day companies with Talgo trains, a determine that reaches as much as 140 companies per day in the course of the annual Hajj pilgrimage. In 2025, shut to 2 million vacationers had been registered in that interval.

The Haramain line is 450 kilometers lengthy and is constructed and operated to related requirements to the Spanish high-speed community, with a most industrial pace of 300 km/h. As a part of the upkeep contract, Talgo operates two services in Saudi Arabia, the place it employs greater than 270 individuals.