Bridging The Kingdom, SAR Seeks Consultants For Riyadh’s Saudi Landbridge Section

Project Overview

Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) has issued a tender for consultancy services covering the Riyadh segment of the Saudi Landbridge, a multi‑billion dollar freight railway intended to link the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf coasts. The Riyadh works will form a critical node where new east–west tracks interface with existing lines, bypasses, and logistics hubs around the capital.

The Saudi Landbridge itself is an estimated $7 billion programme totalling more than 1,500 km of railway, anchored by a roughly 900 km new line between Riyadh and Jeddah that will give the capital direct freight access to King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea.

Freight railway construction through desert terrain featuring earthworks, rail bridge engineering, and heavy construction equipment, showcasing large-scale national rail corridor development, advanced freight infrastructure projects, and strategic logistics network expansion.

Delivery Partners And Key Stakeholders

• Client, Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) – state‑owned railway operator and developer responsible for tendering and delivering the Landbridge network.

• Project Management Team, Hill International, Italferr, Sener – US‑Italian‑Spanish consortium appointed in December 2023 to provide project management services for the overall Landbridge programme.

• Government Stakeholders, Public Investment Fund and relevant ministries – backing the scheme as a national logistics and diversification priority within Saudi Arabia’s wider rail expansion.

The new Riyadh consultancy tender is separate from the existing PM team and is focused on detailed design, procurement support, and construction‑related services for the capital’s section of the route.

Scope Of The Riyadh Section

The consultancy contract for the Riyadh portion goes beyond pure design and extends into procurement, construction, and installation support for associated infrastructure. The scope referenced in the tender includes:

• Alignment, design, and supervision for about 35 km of new track and related works around Riyadh, as part of the broader bypass and upgrade package.

• Viaduct and bridge design, complex civil structures, and utility diversions on the approaches to the capital.

• Integration with upgrades to the existing Riyadh–Dammam line and the planned Riyadh bypass, which connects the northern and southern parts of the network.

• Design input and oversight for signalling, telecommunications, and freight terminal interfaces.

The consultancy brief signals that SAR expects the winning firm to remain involved from concept and preliminary design through to issued‑for‑construction documentation, with options to extend into construction support.

The Saudi Landbridge In Context

The Landbridge is conceived as a new freight backbone stretching over 1,500 km, combining new build and upgraded sections. Key elements include:

• A 900–950 km main line from Riyadh to Jeddah, extended to King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea.

• Upgrades and partial new build between Riyadh and Dammam, plus an industrial connection to Jubail.

• A new 172 km line from King Abdullah Port to Yanbu Industrial City.

• Multiple logistics centres and intermodal terminals along the route.

Once complete, the system is intended mainly for freight, enabling containers and bulk cargo to move between Red Sea and Gulf ports in roughly one day by rail, compared with about four days by ship around the Arabian Peninsula.

Why The Riyadh Section Matters

Riyadh is where the east–west Landbridge spine meets existing north–south and Gulf‑coast corridors, so the capital’s section is both operationally and technically sensitive. It must:

• Accommodate high freight volumes without disrupting urban areas.

• Tie into existing lines towards Dammam and the North–South Railway.

• Provide efficient access to planned logistics centres and industrial zones.

Rights‑of‑way constraints, route alignment choices, and interface complexity around the capital have historically been stumbling blocks for the project, which makes this consultancy phase crucial for de‑risking later construction.

Writer’s Opinion

The Riyadh consultancy tender is a clear signal that Saudi Arabia wants to move the Landbridge from concept and talk into practical phasing, starting where the engineering and operational stakes are highest. After years of shifting delivery models and financing discussions, anchoring the design around the capital could either unlock the rest of the network or expose unresolved issues on cost, land, and interfaces.

If SAR and its advisers can navigate Riyadh’s alignment and integration challenges in a bankable way, the Landbridge has a realistic chance of becoming the Middle East’s defining freight corridor rather than an eternal “project of the future”. If not, even the best management teams will struggle to turn a 1,500 km vision into steel on ballast.