Saudi Transport and Mobility Consulting
Road and Rail Infrastructure

Enhancing Road and Rail Infrastructure for Integrated Mobility in Saudi Arabia

Road and Rail Infrastructure
Issues

The country’s road network showed heavy wear in key logistics corridors, while rail expansion projects suffered from delays and unclear intermodal integration. Freight congestion around ports and urban nodes indicated insufficient infrastructure capacity. Road safety remained a concern due to aging bridges and highway bottlenecks. Moreover, planning was fragmented across ministries, limiting coordination and budget alignment. There was limited data visibility on asset performance, maintenance cycles, and lifecycle costing.

Solution
Our team designed a long-range strategic infrastructure development plan that integrated road and rail investment priorities. We introduced performance-based asset management tools, prioritized critical freight corridors, and applied digital twin technology for real-time infrastructure monitoring. A dual-modal logistics model was introduced to reduce road freight by enhancing rail interconnectivity. We also developed a national project pipeline for PPP financing and standardized performance benchmarks for execution and lifecycle tracking.
Approach
  • Conducted infrastructure audits using LIDAR and UAV-enabled inspections
  • Developed traffic demand simulations and bottleneck heatmaps for all regions
  • Evaluated lifecycle costs and material durability for desert environments
  • Prioritized 8 critical corridors for dual-modal rail-road logistics upgrades
  • Designed funding framework with PPP and sovereign investment incentives
  • Deployed a pilot digital twin model for highway bridge maintenance
  • Created a centralized performance dashboard linked to real-time sensors
Recommendations:
  • Scale rail freight corridor upgrades to reduce long-haul trucking pressure
  • Implement predictive maintenance through IoT-enabled asset tracking
  • Reconstruct highway segments with recycled materials for cost efficiency
  • Standardize road-rail interchange design to optimize freight transfers
  • Engage local EPC contractors through pre-qualified framework agreements
  • Launch coordination platform between transport, trade, and urban ministries
Engagement ROI

The client achieved an annual savings of SAR 21 million in maintenance costs through predictive monitoring and lifecycle planning. Freight transit times decreased by 18%, boosting port throughput by 26%. Highway incident rates dropped by 22% along critical corridors. PPP structuring attracted SAR 540 million in private commitments for three major rail links, while digital twin deployment reduced bridge inspection times by 61%.