Cynics had a field day when Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled the outrageously ambitious $1 trillion Neom City project, questioning the man’s vision and sustainability. In just a few years, Neom City is assuming a superb form, with the most illustrious hospitality brands joining the team.
How one travels in a huge metropolis like Neom without cars was one of the many queries presented by sceptics, yet it seemed to make sense. A high-speed rail that could travel from point A to point B in 20 minutes had been proposed by Prince MBS. A $1.5 billion contract to design and construct 57 km of a high-speed railway in the Neom region along the northern Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia is putting words into reality.
A 57km, 230km/h passenger and freight line in Neom will be built by Webuild and Shibh Al Jazira Contracting (SAJCO). The train will run between The Line, a 105-mile-long desert city, and Oxagon, the industrial hub of the area.
After leading tough industry projects like the Terzo Valico dei Giovi between Genoa and Milan, Webuild will oversee the civil works for two high-speed and two freight railway tracks in a unique location.
Neom aspires to be a futuristic metropolis that uses cutting-edge technology and eco-friendly practices. Building a high-speed rail network and developing an effective transport system are two important components of the growth plan.
The ultimate objective is to link Neom to other significant Saudi Arabian cities, like Riyadh and Jeddah, and possibly to neighboring nations. The affluent country is also getting ready to introduce its own luxury train, similar to the Orient Express, that will travel 1300 kilometers across the Kingdom.
