At a ceremony in June 2009 attended by Saudi Arabian minister of transport Dr Jubarah Bin Eid Al-Suraisry, the launch of a joint venture between Saudi and South African companies was announced. It is to specialise in the marketing and distribution of the innovative new rail technology.

The new company, T-Track Saudi, is a collaboration between the Al-Khobar-based Central Mining Company Investment Limited (CMCI) and Tubular Track (Pty) Ltd of South Africa, a specialist in the development of tubular track. This technology is especially suited to the desert conditions typically found in Middle East countries – and elsewhere in the world.

Those present at the ceremony included managing director of T-Track Saudi Dr Said J Al-Qahtani, founder of T-Track (Pty) Ltd Peter Kusel, and South African Ambassador John Davies. Representatives and contractors from the private sector in Saudi Arabia also attended, as well as consultants and dignitaries from other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) states.

During the ceremony, a detailed presentation was given to explain T-Track technology. It included information garnered from a pilot project on the Saudi Arabian main-line between Riyadh and Dammam, installed to test the T-Track system under difficult local conditions.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr Suraisry – who is also chairman of the Saudi Railway Organisation (SRO) – said that the choosing of Saudi Arabia by private sector representatives of railway technology was most promising. The establishment of this Saudi Arabian-South African joint venture company clearly indicated that the Kingdom, under the leadership of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, encouraged the policy of technology transfer which would also serve to attract foreign investment.

“The fact of the private and public sectors working together in development of innovative technology will go a long way in furthering matters of trade and investment in the Kingdom,” Dr Suraisry said. Speaking on behalf of T-Track, Peter Kusel explained that T-Track technology does away with the need for conventional ballast. This is because the rails are supported along their length by pre-cast reinforced concrete beams. The two beams (modules), laid on a designed formation, are joined together with galvanised steel tie-bars. The ends of these are not cast into the concrete, but rather encircle the beams.

Continuing with his exposition of this “next generation” technology, Kusel said the pilot project had been successfully launched and tested near Harad in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, where the main-line operates in very harsh conditions due to sand and associated sandstorms. Following correct installation and maintenance procedures, the system had been fully tested and quality assured. An acceptance certificate for T-Track in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been issued by the SRO.

Saudi Arabia is to serve as the centre for disseminating T-Track technology throughout the Middle East, and countries such as Egypt and Jordan, Kusel said, have shown keen interest. It is intended to market T-Track to clients in the Middle East through local companies, such as the company’s partner, T-Track Saudi.

“What we needed was a client holding responsibility for the present and future transport in a leading country,” Kusel said. The Saudi Railway Organisation, with its impressive Landbridge project, fitted the bill exactly. The Landbridge is set to create a new dimension in transport across the Saudi Arabian Peninsula, as it will transform the country’s existing railway into a world-class freight and passenger rail system. The project will link Saudi Arabia’s three largest ports – Jeddah Islamic Port, which handles 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually, Riyadh’s Dry Port, which handles 0,25 million and Dammam’s King Abdul Aziz Port which handles 0.75 million.

Interconnections provided by the railway network will enable large quantities of cargo to be transported at competitive rates, resulting in considerable cost savings.

According to South African Ambassador Davies, the volume of two-way trade between Saudi Arabia and South Africa has reached $US20 billion. The launch of the T-Track joint-venture project in the field of railway technology, he said, has opened a new dimension in relations between the two countries.

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