The Al Shoula consortium (Renfe, Adif, Ineco, Cobra, OHL, Indra, Consultrans, Copasa, Siemens, Imathia, Abengoa and Talgo) for the construction and operation of the Mecca-Medina high speed train would have sent a first contract termination notice due to the delay in payment by the Saudi Railway Organization that could amount to about 200 million euros.
The group, nevertheless, continues to operate the AVE line “with all guarantees”, which was put into commercial service in October 2018. Official consortium sources said that in the coming months, they plan to complete “various milestones” that will allow them to fulfill the commitments assumed so that the ‘AVE of the Desert’ circulates ‘with all the benefits’ of speed for it was designed.
At present, the AVE to Mecca runs five days a week (between Wednesday and Sunday), with an offer of five daily journeys, at a speed of about 200 kilometers per hour. However, in this regard, the consortium says that since last January, AVE trains to Mecca reach 300 kilometers per hour on the northern section of the line.
