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The idea of
constructing a railway line in Saudi Arabia was first introduced
in the mid-sixties of the Hijra calendar, when a need was felt for
a port on the eastern sea-shore of the Kingdom to handle goods
dispatched to Aramco Petroleum Company. Such goods had to be
conveyed inland from the port to the warehouses of in Dhahran.
The idea of
constructing such a railway line was presented to the late King
Abdel Aziz Al Saud (God�s mercy be upon him) who gave his assent
to the project and instructed that the line should extend up to
Riyadh.
Construction work commenced on 26/11/1366 A.H.
(October 1947), and on 19/1/1371 A.H. (20/10/1951) the line was
officially inaugurated by His Majesty, the King. At first,
the railway line continued to be run by Aramco Co., but it was
subsequently entrusted to the Ministry of Finance, at which time
it was known as the Railway Department. On 22/1/1368 A.H., a Royal
Decree No. 2/3 was issued which created the railway authority as a
public corporation Organization having a legal status with rights
and duties just as a natural person. A Board of Directors was
appointed to lead the Corporation Organization on commercial
principles. The decree also specified the objectives, the assets
and the powers of the Corporation, Organization, as well as the
terms of reference of the Board and its President during the reign
of His Majesty, the Custodian of the Two holy Mosques, a number of
development projects have been completed. Some of these projects
are as follows:
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Construction
of a direct railway line from Dammam to Riyadh - with a total
length of 499 k.m.
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Construction
of 3 modern passenger stations in Dammam, Hofuf and Riyadh.
-
Establishment
at Dammam of a fully-equipped central maintenance workshop at
Dammam.
-
Construction
inauguration and operation of a Dry Port in Riyadh, which may
be regarded as one of the most important achievements of the
corporation during the recent years. The availability of this
service in Riyadh has greatly facilitated import and clearance
by Customs, of goods which arrive from abroad directly to the
importers in Riyadh.
SOURCE:
Saudi Railways Organization
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