Saudi Arabian Railways (SAR) and Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) have signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue joint railway and mobility projects across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
The agreement, signed by SAR CEO Bashar Al Malik and FS CEO Stefano Antonio Donnarumma, establishes a long-term cooperation framework spanning rail infrastructure, sustainability, digitalisation, safety and technological innovation. It also sits within the broader institutional dialogue between Italy and Saudi Arabia on transport and infrastructure.
The partnership envisages participation in railway and metro schemes, intermodal hubs, network resilience and decarbonisation initiatives. It also covers the deployment of technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), artificial intelligence and machine learning across design, construction, maintenance and operations.
The MoU includes R&D initiatives, technology transfer and specialist training programmes, with potential involvement from King Saud University. It further addresses operations and maintenance, rail logistics, safety standards and certification.
Both parties will explore the establishment of rail testing capabilities in Saudi Arabia, with the aim of creating a regional hub for rolling stock and systems validation. A joint working group will oversee implementation of the agreement.