Alstom consortium wins $2.9bn contract to run Riyadh metro lines

French rail firm Alstom said on Tuesday its FLOW consortium had won a SAR10.9bn ($2.9bn) deal to run the third, fourth, fifth and sixth lines of the upcoming Riyadh Metro.

Members Italian rail infrastructure firm Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, signaling systems specialist Ansaldo STS and Alstom received a letter of award to provide operation and maintenance services for 12 years from Arriyadh Development authority.

Alstom said the deal included rolling stock and systems infrastructure maintenance worth more than EUR730m ($852.8m).

The French company will provide the full maintenance and transit system for the lines, including the trains, tracks, signaling, communication, passenger information systems and power supply.

Its consortium partners will also provide operation and maintenance services across 113km of track and 50 stations, including two main stations, five interchange stations and three depots, as well as security, passenger assistance, telecoms and power supply.

“We are honoured that our client ADA, for whom we are currently supplying a fully integrated Metro System for lines 4, 5 and 6 (Yellow, Green, and Purple lines), is renewing its trust in Alstom’s capabilities and expertise with an additional contract for operation and maintenance services,” said Alstom senior vice president for the Middle East and Africa Didier Pfleger.

Under the contract, the consortium must meet a minimum Saudisation target of 45 per cent for jobs and a 55 per cent target for local content supplies and services.

The firms have also promised to open roles in engineering, vocational and administrative positions to Saudi nationals.

Alstom conducted a dynamic test run of the Riyadh Metro in June.

Read: Dynamic test runs begin on Riyadh Metro project

The overall network will span six lines totaling 176km and 85 metro stations

It is scheduled to begin operations next year.

The metro is planned to accommodate more than 365 million passengers per year in its opening phase and 1.3 billion per year in the future, serving as the backbone of the public transport system in the Saudi capital city.

Read: Elevator firm Kone wins order for Riyadh Metro