More than 1,000 railcars to be moved by ALE

ALE’s Saudi Arabia branch has secured a contract to transport 1,186 railcars. They would stretch nearly 17 kilometres if all were lined up end to end, the company said. This job is expected by ALE to be one of the largest amounts of rail components ever to be transported in Saudi Arabia.

The railcars are being manufactured in Poland and shipped to Gdansk, before their onward journey by ship to Dammam in Saudi Arabia. From Dammam, ALE will receive and transport the railcars 215 km over two days to the Saudi Arabian Railways yard at Nariyah in the Eastern Province of the country.

The railcars, measuring 14 m long, 4.6 m high, and 3 m wide and weighing up to 30 tonnes each, will arrive in shipments of 60 railcars a time, over a period of 22 months.

Andrew Spink, general manager at ALE in Saudi Arabia, said, “As the infrastructure sector continues to develop in Saudi Arabia, with the increase in construction of metros and railways, ALE has made significant investments in equipment and expertise to help meet the requirements of clients in the region. We are involved with the transportation of heavy concrete segments on the Riyadh metro, and recently we have transported several shipments of rail cars and locomotives.

“To be involved in the movement of the largest amount of railcars the country has ever received is an indicator of our increasing presence and capabilities in Saudi Arabia’s growing civil infrastructure sector.”

The railcars are in Poland and the first shipment will be received in Saudi Arabia in July.