Savage Saudi Arabia, a leading provider of services for refineries in the kingdom, has delivered a total of seven locomotives and two locomotive booster units from the US to Saudi Arabia’s Eastern and Northern provinces.

Savage Saudi Arabia is a joint venture company between Savage Companies (Utah, US) and Ahmad Nasser Albinali Holding Company (Dammam, Saudi Arabia).

The delivery will support rail operations at Saudi Aramco and Ma'aden Wa'ad Al-Shamal Phosphate Company (MWSPC) facilities, said a statement.

Savage will own, operate and maintain the two Tier-3 compliant, low-emissions locomotives delivered to Saudi Aramco’s Wasit and Berri Gas Plants, in the Jubail area, it said.

Savage also delivered five GP38-3 locomotives and two booster units to MWSPC’s new mining and processing plants in Wa'ad Al-Shamal Industrial City and Ras Al Khair Industrial City, it added.

The locomotives and booster units were imported by ship from Houston, Texas, US, to the Port of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and hauled by tractor-trailers to their final destinations.

Savage has an agreement to provide rail switching, track maintenance, and track signalling system operations and maintenance for Saudi Aramco at its Wasit and Berri Gas Plants.

These services will help facilitate the transportation of molten sulphur by rail to MWSPC’s facilities for use in producing phosphate fertilisers. On the receiving end, Savage is providing training for locomotive operations and maintenance to facilitate handover to MWSPC, who owns and operates the units.

Troy Savage, senior vice president and executive manager for Savage Saudi Arabia, said: “The delivery of these locomotives highlights the continued emphasis Saudi Arabia is placing on the development of railroad infrastructure and diversification of industry.”

“We are pleased to operate one of the first industrial rail switching facilities in Saudi Arabia and are committed to providing excellent service for our customers,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service