Multinational energy company Himoinsa has delivered 29 generator sets to provide standby power to various sections of the railway line that crosses the coastal and desert areas of Saudi Arabia, between Makkah and Madinah.

The generator set manufacturer has installed 29 of the 38 generators that the Spanish company Cobra has requested so far, said a statement.

Cobra is one of the 12 companies that make up the Spanish consortium responsible for implementing the high-speed project in Saudi Arabia, it said.

The high-speed rail corridor will serve 166,000 passengers daily and will travel 444 km in less than three hours.

The project, which will be completed late next year, will connect the most important country in the Gulf region.

Himoinsa has used several models of its generators including HFW 155 T6, HFW 200 T6, HFW 250 T6 and HFW 290 T6.

These generators feature Iveco engines that operate in stanby power to cover any network failure and to ensure continuity in the functioning of all the services of the stations and stopping points on the rail route.

The delivery of equipment is not over yet, as initially 38 generator sets were requested, including several units of the HMW 405 T6 model, which are generator sets with MTU engines that will be delivered progressively as required by the project.

“There were two main reasons why we chose Himoinsa generator sets. On the one hand, the success we've experienced with Himoinsa on many other projects; and on the other hand, the fact that Himoinsa can guarantee a local service in Saudi Arabia through the company's regional technical/sales team,” said Cobra Group sources, referring to Himoinsa’s subsidiary in the Middle East, located in Dubai, UAE, and which has a commercial technical team serving the entire region and offering personalised quality service.

In addition to responding to the mass movement of Muslim pilgrims who arrive in the kingdom every year from different parts of the world, this project is considered of extreme importance due to the climatic and geological conditions that require high quality equipment, said the statement.

A journey of over 440 km with stretches of dunes, sand and strong winds means that the generator sets must be designed to withstand intense sandstorms and very high temperatures, it said.

Himoinsa generator sets can endure temperatures of 50 deg C and are designed to operate in dusty environments, factors that can damage the generator filters and therefore affect operation, it added. - TradeArabia News Service