Angered by a series of technical failures on brand-new Spanish-made trains, the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) has threatened to kill the rest of the SR612-million supply contract and go elsewhere for its rolling stock. It is absolutely right that this tough approach is being taken, since the development of rail travel in the Kingdom is of key importance. The public needs to be inspired to see rail as a less stressful alternative to air travel, where the extra journey time can be put to good use, working in quiet air-conditioned comfort or just catching up on a good book. Problems with two of the five high-speed trains so far supplied by CAF of Spain appear to have developed almost immediately. The Spanish company had engineers on standby to fix any teething problems, as is normal practice in the engineering industry with equipment handovers. However, initial problems with engines, fuel pumps and electrics, which the Spaniards said that they had sorted out, quickly recurred, to the extent that one Hofuf-bound train had to be taken out of service because its air-conditioning failed entirely. The main fault it seems lies in the computer system running these very advanced high-speed trains which, it is reported, could not cope with the challenging operational environment. If this is correct it poses one of two big questions. Did CAF fail to conform to the design specifications it was given or were those specifications wrong? If it proves to be the latter, then liability could rest with the German engineering consultants who were hired by Saudi Railways to draw up the specifications and helped it sign off on those requirements. It must be hoped, however, that this failure will not blow up into a major commercial dispute and end up in the courts. Rail is emerging as too important a mode of transportation for the Kingdom to be bogged down in quarrels involving a major supplier. CAF's trains are not just being used on the Riyadh-Damman line. Only this March, Saudi Railways signed a SR533-million deal with the Spanish train manufacturer to supply and maintain five high speed trains on the North-South Railway which opens for freight this July and will start passenger services in 2014. That said, it is absolutely right that the Saudi Railways Organization is not playing softball on this problem. The Kingdom's railway projects, which include the Landbridge line, are currently the world's most ambitious and most challenging. Virtually every international equipment maker has sought to win contracts. As a result of the competition, Saudi Railways has been able to secure some very good terms. Unfortunately, it is true of tendering the world over, that the lowest price does not necessarily represent the best value, because by undercutting its rivals, a supplier may find itself under pressure to fulfill the contract without making any profit for its shareholders.This is not to suggest that this is what underpins Saudi Railway's current problems with CAF. However, whatever has gone wrong needs to be fixed quickly and permanently so that the image of rail travel in the Kingdom is not tarnished. __
