A Spanish consortium has beaten its French rival in the bidding for a Saudi contract estimated at seven billion euros ($10 billion) to build a high-speed railway, the Kingdom's rail authority said Wednesday. The project aims to provide transportation for pilgrims between the two holy cities of Makkah and Madina through Jeddah, a distance of 444 km. “Approval has been issued on awarding phase two of the Haramain High Speed Rail Project (HHR) to Al-Shoula Consortium, comprising a number of Saudi and Spanish Companies,” the Saudi Railways Organization said on its website. The consortium comprises Spanish rail operator Renfe, Talgo, Adif, OHL and eight other companies, while the French consortium included French rail operator SNCF and Alstom. Spain has been a world leader in high-speed rail networks and now has the longest such system in Europe, ahead of France. The second phase of the HHR project includes the construction of railway tracks, installation of signaling and telecommunication systems, electrification, operational control center, and the procurement of 35 train sets, the authority said in a statement. It also includes the operation and maintenance for a period of 12 years. The Haramain Train project is a 444 km high-speed inter-city rail transport system linking the holy cities of Makkah and Madina via King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
