Freight service commenced this past May on portions of the line that are complete, with trains carrying phosphate concentrate from Al Jalamid to the port of Ras Azzawr.
Saudi Arabia Upgrading Rail Passenger and Freight Service
![$11.3-Billion China Rail Link Tunnels 63% of the Way](https://www.enr.com/ext/resources/archives/infrastructure/transportation/2011/extras/0928c/2.jpg?t=1446084279&width=1080)
Phosphate being loaded at Al Jalamid.
Saudi Railways Organization
![$11.3-Billion China Rail Link Tunnels 63% of the Way](https://www.enr.com/ext/resources/archives/infrastructure/transportation/2011/extras/0928c/3.jpg?t=1446084279&width=1080)
Trains haul phosphate 1,392 km to refinery and smelter at Ras Al-Khair.
Saudi Railways Organization
![$11.3-Billion China Rail Link Tunnels 63% of the Way](https://www.enr.com/ext/resources/archives/infrastructure/transportation/2011/extras/0928c/1.jpg?t=1446084279&width=1080)
The North-South Railway, a 2,400-kilometer-long branching system, will link Saudi Arabia�s northern mineral belt with smelters and a port on the Persian Gulf.
Map by ENR Art Department
![$11.3-Billion China Rail Link Tunnels 63% of the Way](https://www.enr.com/ext/resources/archives/infrastructure/transportation/2011/extras/0928c/4.jpg?t=1446084279&width=1080)
The railway uses locomotives made by ElectroMotive Diesel, Inc., a U.S. firm, and carriages made by CSR, a Chinese manufacturer.
Saudi Railways Organization