RIYADH: A delegation from Kuwait Fire Force visited Saudi Arabia last week to study fire safety measures in the kingdom’s railway projects. The team was led by Kuwait Fire Force’s Acting Deputy Chief for Civil Protection Brigadier Omar Hamad. During the visit, the delegation met with Saudi Civil Defense officials, including , Director General of Civil Defense Major General Dr Hamoud bin Suleiman Al-Faraj and Assistant Director General for Safety Major General Ajab Al-Harbi. The purpose of our visit is to learn from the latest fire prevention and safety practices in Saudi Arabia’s metro and railway network, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.
The Kuwaiti delegation toured several metro stations and the Saudi Railway Company (SAR). They met with project managers and technical teams to review cutting-edge fire prevention technologies, emergency response procedures and hands-on safety protocols.
Kuwait Fire Force’s Acting Deputy Chief for Civil Protection Brigadier Omar Hamad receives a souvenir from Saudi Arabia’s Director General of Civil Defense Major General Dr Hamoud Al-Faraj.
The visit comes under the guidance of Kuwait Fire Force Chief Major General Talal Al-Roumi, as part of ongoing efforts to exchange expertise and enhance the technical and operational readiness of Kuwait’s fire services.
The visit comes as Kuwait is advancing a major strategic railway project, with a target completion date of 2030. This timeline aligns with the goals agreed upon by the GCC transport ministers, as each member nation works to complete its respective section of the regional network. The hub of this system will be a main railway station in Shadadiya, which has been allocated a significant land area of two million square meters.
Speaking to KTV, Engineer Ahmad Al-Saleh, spokesperson for the Public Works Ministry, said the infrastructure will support two distinct types of rail services to facilitate both regional integration and rapid transit. The first is a diesel train that will span 111 kilometers within Kuwait, connecting the country to the GCC railway network. This line will link Kuwait to Saudi Arabia and extend as far as Oman, providing essential services for both freight and passenger transport. The second component is a high-speed rail link between Kuwait and Riyadh, designed to drastically reduce travel time to just one hour and 40 minutes.
Currently, the project is in the design phase, with the international Turkish consulting firm Proyapi handling the initial design for the GCC railway link. Al-Saleh said that once these designs are finalized and delivered, the Public Works Ministry will proceed to the tendering and implementation stages. To ensure the project’s success, Kuwait is maintaining active coordination with Saudi Arabia through joint committees, he said. — Agencies
