North-South train to run early next year

Arab News
Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar (right) inspects facilities at a train station on the North-South Railway on Thursday. Later he took a ride on the train. (AN photos by Khalid Al-Khamis)

RIYADH: Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar said Thursday that the North-South Railway will be launched early next year, asserting that the project is feasible both at the economic and security levels as it will save lives of travelers on the roads and protect them against the hazards of commuting by car. 
The governor was speaking to local media during a trial run by the operator of the train, from Riyadh to Al-Majma’ah. “We expect the train will officially operate within two to three months, at the beginning of 2017,” he said
Prince Faisal predicted great success for the project, especially as it was carefully studied and enjoys economic feasibility as studies showed, noting that the train is to be operated and serviced by young Saudis in the area of command and control, and in the hospitality industry, after the Saudi Railways Company (SAR) sent a number of Saudis on scholarship to learn how to drive and operate trains.
“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,” added Prince Faisal.
He noted that the Kingdom is vast in size, which requires such service projects, particularly in the transport sector, and called on citizens to be patient, especially since the Kingdom is on the verge of a big change and looks forward to huge development works.
The Governor was briefed during the tour on the readiness of the passenger train from Riyadh to Al-Majma’ah. He also visited the stations and was accompanied by Minister of Transport Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, Al-Majma’ah Gov. Prince Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah, and Rumaih M. Alrumaih, CEO of Saudi Railway Company.
The railway line is 1,250 km long and the train will start from Riyadh and pass through Al-Majma’ah, Qasim, Hail and Jouf to reach Al-Qurayyat. The train will have 12 cars with allocated places for the disabled in three places, along with three small praying areas which can be transformed into disabled areas if necessary.