Saudi Arabia turns to suppliers of locomotives and wagons

Saudi Arabian Railways (SAR) has announced interest in a contract to supply 25 mainline locomotives, including options for additional locomotives, and to design, manufacture and supply up to 900 tank cars. Railway Supply writes about this, citing Railpage.

In line with the Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, continued rail growth in the country has led to a requirement for additional freight rolling stock and, as a result, SAR will be increasing its locomotive fleet to support expanding demand both in the country and in the wider region.

Global rolling stock purchases

The locomotives will primarily be used to haul tank cars and should be able to haul up to 140 tank cars using four locomotives operating as a group.

Suppliers submitting tenders will also be requested to incorporate a long-term maintenance contract for the locomotive fleet. The terms and length of the maintenance agreement will be agreed at the contract stage. The locomotive contract is expected to be awarded to the preferred supplier in the fourth quarter of this year, with the result of the tendering process possibly being announced as soon as June. Delivery of the first batch of locomotives is expected in the first quarter of 2026.

The new tank cars will be used to transport molten sulfur and phosphoric acid. According to Vision 2030, SAR will meet the recent growth in demand for freight transport by increasing its wagon fleet to 10,000 units by 2030.

Railway news you might have missed:

CSX announces launch of new carbon calculator