Saudi Railways Organization Freight Market Study  (2014-2016)

• Davies Transportation Consulting Inc. recently completed a Freight Marketing Study for Saudi Railway Organization to identify opportunities to increase freight traffic on the Dammam-Riyadh rail line and inland Dry Port in Riyadh. The project was undertaken in collaboration with Effect Advisory. The DTCI project team included Darryl Anderson, Norm Hooper and Steve Hayto.
• Project objectives included identification of opportunities for increased freight traffic on the Dammam-Riyadh rail line, and the evolving rail network in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; identification of the operational and infrastructure changes that will be required to attract and accommodate the additional traffic; and estimates of investment costs.
• The project team undertook extensive consultations to gather information on cargo flows, current logistics practices, and transportation issues. Almost 80 organizations were contacted, including shippers, logistics and trucking companies, warehouse operators, port terminals, and government ministries and agencies. Identified opportunities to increase traffic from existing and new customers, assess the operational and infrastructure changes that would be required to attract the additional traffic, and estimate investment costs.
• The consulting team recommended six high priority projects over the next 1 to 5 years, ranked according to criteria including the potential for increasing SRO’s freight revenue, promoting industrial development and job creation, and reducing traffic congestion and road safety.