Thales wins 2,400km Saudi rail maintenance contract

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Thales wins 2,400km Saudi rail maintenance contract

Thales has been awarded a one year renewable maintenance contract for the 2,400 km lines – mineral and passenger – of the North South Railway project crossing Saudi Arabia. This contract demonstrates the trust relationship built with Saudi Railway Company over years of collaboration to deploy the complete transportation systems on the line.

The North-South Railway (NSR) project in Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest railway construction and the longest route to adopt the European signaling system (ETCS level 2). The project involves construction of a single 2,400 km track, sidings, yards, depots, stations and administrative facilities to create a line that has its origin in the capital city Riyadh, in the northwest of the country, to Al Haditha, near the border with Jordan.

The freight line, 1,486 km from Al Jalamid (phosphate belt) to Az Zabirah (bauxite belt), is now operational since November 2015. The 1,418 km passenger line from Riyadh to Haditha will be operational end of 2016.

The maintenance contract includes the corrective activities as well as predictive maintenance. This will enable rail operators to fix assets before they fail. Asset performance is constantly improved for a better service and an optimized cost of the infrastructure. This maintenance contract is extendable in the coming years.

Thales is one of the leading providers of signaling solutions and equipment’s maintenance worldwide and particularly in Europe which adopts first this new state of the art ETCS technology.

The industrial line is a 1,486 km rail line from Al Jalamid (phosphate belt) in the north to Az Zabirah (bauxite belt) in the centre of the country and is running eastwards to the processing and manufacturing facilities at the Arabian Gulf in Raz Al Khair, from where the final products are shipped by see. The freight trains are running at a speed of 80km/h when loaded and 100km/h when empty.

The 1,418 km passenger line runs from Riyadh and passes through industrial stations in Sudair, Al Qassim, Hail, Al-Jawf and Al -Basayta to Al Haditha. The passenger route will accommodate trains travelling at 200 km/h.

Source: www.thalesgroup.com

Moving Abroad Checklist

Initial Considerations

Will your partner be travelling with you?

If so, what will they be giving up in your present home and will they be able to continue with their career in your new home? You will need to check whether a separate visa is required for your partner to work or if your visa gives that right. If they are unable to work you will need to decide on the effect on your finances and what alternatives are available to give a fulfilling life (home business, training, voluntary work).

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Moving with family raises many exciting opportunities, but also can create challenges. The HSBC Expat Explorer survey indicates that expat kids can take six months to settle in to their new country (see article). Getting young or even older children to prepare to move and leave their friends and family behind can be a challenge and should be thought through.

The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

Where will you be living?

Whether you will be living in a house or apartment, furnished or unfurnished, these decisions will affect what you need to take with you. The time you are planning to live overseas will also affect whether you should leave your property at home empty, rent it out or sell it. See the article Sell, Store or Ship.