Saudi Arabia Railways transport 11 million passengers, 25 million tonnes of cargo in 2023

Saudi Arabia Railways transported more than 11 million passengers in 2023, a growth rate of more than 50 percent.

The company said on Wednesday that the total amount of cargo transported increased by more than 25 million tonnes, which represented a growth rate in excess of 10 percent. This resulted in the removal of more than 2 million trucks from the nation’s roads each year, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The figures were revealed on Wednesday as the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, also known as MODON, and SAR signed two memorandums of understanding for the development of rail transport and logistics solutions in industrial cities, in support of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program.

During the signing ceremony, which took place in Dammam’s 2nd Industrial City, Saleh Al-Jasser, the minister of transport and logistic services and chairman of SAR’s board of directors, said that the latest international indicators, including the Logistics Performance Index, the Quality Interdependence Index and the Maritime Interdependence Index, showed that the Kingdom is making progress in global rankings for transportation and logistics as a result of major projects in the country.

“The partnership with the industrial sector is a long-established one, which started with the construction of roads over the decades that benefit the industrial sector,” he said.

Various projects, including the development of the northern railway, have helped support the industrial and mining sectors by connecting the cities of Dammam, Jubail and Ras Al-Khair to ports in the Eastern Province, he added, and other projects are under way that will provide more benefits.

Efforts to improve the integration of transport and logistics systems with the industrial sector, through the work of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, reflect the importance of cooperation and integration between government sectors, Al-Jasser said, which aids the development of Saudi industry.