Thales announced that it has signed its first main line rail contract in Saudi Arabia, in cooperation with Saudi BinLadin Group (SBG), worth €340 million.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) plans to implement Thales’s leading European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 system on the North-South Railway project in Saudi Arabia stretching across 2,400 km. The contract represents the first implementation of the ETCS Level 2 in the Middle East and at the same time, the longest implementation of the ETCS standard in the world. The new line is expected to be fully operational by 2013.

The North-South Railway project, managed by Saudi Railway Company (SAR), represents a major infrastructure project in Saudi Arabia and will support the Kingdom in connecting its capital Riyadh, with the North of the country. The new railway track will stretch from the capital to the Jordanian border and from Al Jalamid to the Arabian Gulf, and will include seven passenger and freight stations as well as 41 sidings and junctions.

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